The Nova Scotia Fruit Growers’ Association
Apple News
Celebrating 150 years of being original.
Volume 19, Issue 1| February 2014 (p) 902.678.1093 |(f) 902.678.1567|(w) www.nsapples.com | (e) [email protected] | 32 Main Street, Blair House, Kentville, NS B4N 1J5
Thank you to Convention Sponsors, Tradeshow participants, Speakers, the NSFGA Annual Convention Committee, the Old Orchard Inn and all the other volunteer helpers all who
helped to make Convention a success.
150th Annual Convention a Success
Keynote speakers André Tougas and Dr. Julian Gwyn
Keynote speaker Rob Farrow,; 2013 Honourary Member Dr. Gordon Braun (and Mrs. Braun); Rob Peill, 2013 Golden Apple
Award Recipient (and his family).
NS Minister of Agriculture Keith Colwell brought greet-ings to the convention from his Department. Rob Peill, NSFGA President, presented The Minister with a framed NS Honeycrisp photo taken by Peter Eisses.
2
The NSFGA Apple News
AAFC InforHort Report Jan 1, 2014 Canadian Apple Storage by Type of Storage and Province
(1) Revised Footnotes
Thousands of pounds)
Jan 1, 2014 NS Data collected by the NFGA Reported in Bins Jan 1, 2013
Report in Bins
VARIETY FRESH PEELER
Juice
TO-TAL
CA Cold CA Cold Cold
Ambrosia 1078 47 0 0 0 1125
Cortland 2760 30 0 1 0 2791
Empire 339 107 0 0 0 446
Gala 1490 215 0 0 0 1705
Gold Delici 847 278 77 2 0 1204
G Russet 167 18 0 0 0 185
Hoeycrisp 7483 202 0 0 0 7685
Idared 1012 51 4199 388 0 5650
Jonagold 2543 63 207 0 1 2814
McIntosh 9207 200 0 0 0 9407
Red Del 1899 146 0 0 0 2045
Spartan 332 11 0 0 0 343
Spy 320 0 11161 1202 0 12683
Others 118 306 0 0 1 425
TOTAL 28517 1627 15644 1593 2 48508
VARIETY FRESH PEELER Juice TOTAL
CA Cold CA Cold Cold
Ambrosia 759 65 0 0 824
Cortland 4928 4 0 3 0 4935
Empire 414 29 0 0 0 443
Gala 791 1 0 0 0 792
Golden Del 1376 84 0 9 0 1469
Golden Rus 0 27 0 0 0 27
Honeycrisp 3677 4 0 7 1 3689
Idared 990 25 3963 179 0 5157
Jonagold 2349 39 60 7 0 2455
McIntosh 7170 52 0 0 0 7222
Red Del 1694 38 0 0 0 1732
Spartan 396 0 0 0 0 396
Spy 50 334 12966 158 0 13508
Others 260 243 0 0 8 511
TOTAL 24854 945 16989 363 9 43160
Region/Province
2013-2014 2012-2013 %
Change C.A. Cold Common Total C.A. Cold Common Total
Total Mari-times
34,738 2,717 0 37,455 31,634 995 0 32,629 14.79%
Quebec 93,211 11,079 0 104,290 (1) 78,335 18,450 0 96,785 7.75%
Ontario 145,454 20,433 0 165,887 (1) 24,026 3,421 0 27,447 504.39%
British Columbia
52,318 17,607 0 69,925 88,223 22,585 0 110,808 -36.90%
Total Canada
325,721 51,836 0 377,557 222,218 45,451 0 267,669 41.05%
3
The NSFGA Apple News
Report in Bins Feb. 1 2014
VARIETY FRESH PEELER Juice TOTAL
CA Cold CA Cold Cold
Ambrosia 833 16 0 0 0 744
Cortland 1999 59 0 2 0 1802
Empire 228 43 0 0 0 87
Gala 1045 27 0 0 1 771
Golden Delicious 860 108 77 0 0 990
Golden Russet 117 7 0 0 0 111
Hon-eycrisp 3417 41 0 0 0 3269
Idared 1094 6 709 53 0 1743
Jonagold 2453 32 3697 0 1 6075
McIntosh 7557 270 0 0 0 7392
Red Del 1807 40 0 0 0 1647
Spartan 237 4 0 0 0 198
Spy 0 23 10587 600 0 11210
Others 61 236 0 0 0 251
TOTAL 19407 412 15070 655 2 38422
Report in Bins Feb. 1 2013
VARIETY FRESH PEELER JUICE TOTAL
CA Cold CA Cold CA Cold
Ambrosia 591 0 0 0 0 0 591
Cortland 3064 0 0 2 0 0 3066
Empire 299 0 0 0 0 0 299
Gala 468 0 0 0 0 0 468 Golden Delicious 1102 30 0 0 0 0 1132
Golden Russet 0 16 0 0 0 0 16
Honeycri 1307 2 0 0 0 1 1310
Idared 922 0 4054 113 0 0 5089
Jonagold 2216 0 60 0 0 0 2276
McIntosh 5631 0 0 0 0 0 5631
Red Delic 1416 2 0 0 0 0 1418
Spartan 362 0 0 0 0 0 362
Spy 62 0 11671 0 0 0 11733
Others 215 11 53 0 2 0 281
TOTAL 17655 61 15838 115 2 1 33672
egion/Province
2013-2014 2012-2013 %
Change C.A. Cold Common Total C.A. Cold Common Total
Total Mari-times
28,176 1,385 0 29,561 (1) 25,321 135 0 25,456 7.77%
Quebec 85,303 6,213 0 91,516 69,558 12,006 0 81,564 12.20%
Ontario 130,172 7,629 0 137,801 15,844 1,717 0 17,561 684.70%
British
Columbia 39,890 12,031 0 51,921 73,072 14,234 0 87,306 -40.53%
Total
Canada 283,541 27,258 0 310,799 183,795 28,092 0 211,887 45.68%
AAFC InforHort Report Feb 1, 2014 Canadian Apple Storage by Type of Storage and Province
Thousands of pounds)
Feb1, 2014 NS Data collected by the NFGA Reported in Bins Feb 1, 2013
Footnotes: (1) revised
4
The NSFGA Apple News
IFP NEWS
Pest Minor Use Priorities
The following was sent in January to Steve Tattrie, Pest Minor Use Coordinator in Truro from Rob Smith, NSFGA IFP Committee Chair
Steve, The following was what I have come up with in response to my email to our IFP Committee mem-bers. As I mentioned before we (NSFGA) are unable send a rep to the meetings and so will definitely appre-ciate your voice on our behalf, at those sessions.
APPLE:
FUNGICIDES: APPLE SCAB A dire need for multi-site pro-tectants affordable enough to use season long in a spray program. captan and EDBC are the current main stay products, but have pending regulation issues. Ster-ile Inhibitors have been in trouble across Canada as fungal resistance has been documented.
INSECTICIDES: APPLE MAGGOT PMRA's recent review of neonics (Possible pollinator problems) puts maggot con-trol in a very precarious position. We need new prod-ucts with new chemistry that will give quick kill to mag-got flies AND have a short re-entry. SPOTTED WING DROSOLOPHIA: What happens after emergency regis-trations ? need a logical array of control products.
THINNERS: We still lack an alternative to SEVIN XLR (which has objections from European green reps) An effective fruit thinner would be a major advantage.
OTHER ISSUES:
ORGANIC: EUROPEAN APPLE SAWFLY........... effective OMRI product needed Quassia (?) I am told shows promise in Europe
PEAR: similar to our situation in apple, i.e. we need new chemistry fungicides that are affordable (and effective) enough use in a season long program against pear scab.
STONE FRUIT: BROWN ROT... hoping for a menu of products that are effective.
Diazinon Risk Management Plan Re-evaluation Note - REV2013-01
Read the whole report on Health Canada site at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pubs/pest/_decisions/rev2013-01/index-eng.php
4.1 Phase-out Schedule
Uses of diazinon identified for longer-term phase-out will be grouped ac-cording to two timeframes. Uses have been assigned to the specific time frames based on the expected challenges involved in transitioning to alternative pest control measures. Phase-outs will occur as per the fol-lowing timelines:
Table 3 – Phase out dates for airblast, foliar and granular applications, by crop.
Last Date of Use Crops
31 December 2013* apricot, peach, plum and prune
31 December 2016** Cherry, apple, black-berry, carrot, Christmas tree, …...
* Or at earliest feasible date thereafter.
** If submissions for registration of alternative control products have been received by the PMRA prior to 31 December 2016, a two-year extension to this phase-out date may be granted to allow for the review of such sub-missions.
5
INDUSTRY NEWS
The NSFGA Apple News
FYI: There is a street name change at Perennia Innovation Park. Innovation Drive is officially renamed to Dr. Bernie MacDonald Drive in honour of Dr. MacDonald’s great con-tribution to NS agriculture. He passed away in January 2013.
Nova Scotia’s minimum wage is increasing by 10 cents an hour, to $10.40 an hour, starting April 1, 2014.
CanadaGAP Workshops These workshops will cover the full requirements of the manual. Both course are sponsored by Horticul-ture Nova Scotia and run 9:30 am - 3:30 pm. Feb 11 - Waterville Fire hall Feb 13 - Room 6, Administration Building, 90 Re-search Drive, Perennia Innovation Park, Bible Hill Snow dates are the following day for both work-shops. Register by calling Kim Best 902-670-4397 or email [email protected] Registration is $20 + HST for Hort NS members and $60 + HST for non-members. This includes lunch and a manual. Please pay at the door with checks pay-able to Horticulture Nova Scotia.
Request to fill out a survey to help a Dal Ag stu-dent with project concerning Ag employees
The very short (5-7 minutes) online survey is avail-able at: https://surveys.dal.ca/opinio/s?s=21381. Submissions will be accepted until February 17th, 2014.
My name is JoAnn Pineau. I am a 4th year Animal Science student with the Dalhouise Faculty of Ag-riculture, working under the supervision of Dr. Kath-leen Kevany. I am doing a study to examine, from the perspective of agriculture sector employers in the Nova Scotia, what practices are used to re-cruit and retain workers. This study will also exam-ine what potential measures agriculture sector employers feel could be taken to narrow the gaps between unemployed potential workers and available agriculture employment. The goal is to gather and analyze information that will be useful in improving recruitment and retention practices.
To help us in this project, I am inviting agriculture sector employers from across Nova Scotia to an-swer some questions about how they find employ-ees, their employee skills levels, what attracts and retains employees, and their opinions on the op-portunities in agricultural employment.
I'm very interested in getting the input of fruit growers across Nova Scotia on this subject. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
JoAnn Pineau <[email protected]>
Read about concern around the quality of Honeycrisp being grown in areas not suited to producing the best quality apple. Good Fruit Grower on line at http://www.goodfruit.com/honeycrisp-dont-kill-the-golden-goose/
The Kings County Advertiser, Feb. 11, 2014 article, “Premier: Education, research funding a priority” by Wendy Elliott states when speak-ing to Kings County Rotary Clubs last week, Premier Stephen McNeil “pointed to apple programs, like the Honeycrisp, as well as the wine industry as areas worthy of research funding.”
Cornell University offers school for fruit grow-ers >> See details at: http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/news/release/31578
6
Fruit Growers News, Jan. 2014 Arctic Apples still seeking approval. USDA opened second round of public com-ments on the deregulation of Arctic Apples. Arctic apples are meeting resistance in Canada. In November, the BC-based BC Fruit Growers’ Asso-ciation asked the Canadian govern-ment to suspend the regulatory pro-cess for OSF’s product. The CHC Ap-ple Working Group also is in favor of a moratorium on the introduction of the Arctic Apples. Read more at: http://fruitgrowersnews.com/indes.php/magazine/article/arctic-apples
Published in the Toronto Star on Dec. 6, 2013 Canada to Take a Bite Out of Creston Apples An apple variety more than a decade in the making will hit Canadian grocery shelves for the first time this winter. The Creston apple, originally developed in B.C. almost 15 years ago as part of a fruit breeding pro-gram, will be sold in the GTA as of Dec. 8. The apple’s retail introduction screams of exclusivity — only 2,000 bushels will be sold, only in Ontario and only at Lo-blaws. In comparison, the Ontario government pegs the average provincial apple crop at about 13.7 mil-lion bushels. “Once you taste it, there’s no question that you want more of them,” said Tom Chudleigh, whose company, Chudleigh’s, grew the apples. For Chudleigh, it’s a mystery why the apple hasn’t taken off before now. “It’s crunchy and juicy, and it has bite. It has a distinctive flavour,” he said. Although the apple has been sold for a number of years in farmers’ markets, primarily in B.C. and Nova Scotia, Chudleigh said distribution was limited and On-tario consumers were excluded. But not anymore. “If it’s successful,” Chudleigh said, “there might be quite a rush to plant them.” Chudleigh was given 10 Creston trees to plant in his orchard when the apple was first developed, and eventually realized he might have something great on his hands. “Whenever we wanted an apple, the workers wanted an apple, they’d buzz back and get one of these Crestons,” he said. Chud-leigh added that once Chudleigh’s started taste test-ing, the Creston always came out on top. But it takes five or six years to grow enough apples for retail and Chudleigh said the company wasn’t ready until this year. Brian Gilroy is the chair of the Ontario Apple Growers and said new apple varieties get intro-duced to the market “all too often.” “One thing that our apple growers are trying to do is to find a variety that will have strong consumer preference, and it’s very tricky,” he said. As for the Creston, Gilroy, who has two trees himself, said he’s optimistic the apple will catch on. “It’s one of those apples that has great po-
APPLE VARIETIES IN THE NEWS
tential, and I’ve often spoken of it for a number of years now . . . as being an apple that’s a little bit different in appearance and has great flavour,” he said. Gilroy added that Crestons are similar to Ambrosia apples. One of the selling points, Chudleigh said, is that the Creston is an “all Canadian apple.” “It hasn’t been a hand-me-down,” he said, referring to other popular varie-ties such as New Zealand’s Gala ap-ples. “We’re just very excited.”
7
The NSFGA Apple News
Note: The NSFGA prefers to mail out as few hard copies of the newsletter as possi-ble but let us know if you prefer to receive it in hard copy. Also let us know if there is someone who did not receive a newsletter but wishes to. The newsletter may also be viewed on our web site: www.nsapples.com
Nova Scotia Fruit Grower’s Association 32 Main St., Blair House, AFHRC Kentville, NS B4N 1J5 Phone: 902-678-1093 Fax: 678-1567 [email protected] [email protected]
www.nsapples.com
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Feb. 19 NSFGA IFP Committee Meeting, Noon, Blair House
Feb. 20 NSFGA Board of Directors’ Meeting 1:30pm, Cornwallis Room
Mar. 18 Executive Committee Meeting, 10am Blair House
Mar. 27 NSFGA Board of Directors’ Meeting 1:30pm, Cornwallis Room
Apple development on August, 2012
NSFGA NEWS
NSFGA IN THE NEWS Dr. Julian Gwyn has published the book, “Comfort me with apples: The Nova Scotia Fruit Growers’ Association, 1863-2013”. He describes the book not as a history of the apple industry. Rather it focuses, as much as the evidence allows, on the growers themselves and the or-ganization successive generations created. To pur-chase your copy go to the Scotian Gold Country Store.
Lost and Found: If you left a tin of lip balm in the con-vention session hall, it is at Blair House in Marjo’s office.
Kings County Federation of Agriculture is holding a Tur-key Dinner and Dance on March 1, 2014 at the Water-ville Fire Hall, 6pm. If you have silent auction donations or wish to purchase tickets contact Gail at 678-7722.
If you would like to volunteer to be on the Annual Convention Committee for the 2015 Convention, please contact Marjo at the NSFGA office or Stephen Van Meekeren, the Convention Chair.
Read the article “NS Fruit Growers Association turns 150” from the Kings County Register, Feb. 6, 2014 at http://www.kingscountynews.ca/News/Local/2014-02-05/article-3601295/NS-Fruit-Growers-Association-turns-150/1
Also the paper included a full page article on Feb. 11 about Dr. Gwyn’s book, “Comfort me with apples: Nova Scotia Fruit Growers’ Association 1863-2013” at http://www.kingscountynews.ca/Living/2014-02-11/article-3609971/Comfort-Me-With-Apples%3A-Valley-historian-recounts-tales-of-Nova-Scotia-Fruit-Growers-Association/1
Anyone can read our Apple News Newsletters by going to our web site and clicking on “Newsletters” in the heading choices on the left www.nsapples.com.