Ontario field products thrive amid weather swings

Ontario field-growing regions experienced a weather roller coaster this spring and early summer, but growers say their crops came through with flying colors, and they expect excellent quality as the summer harvest gets underway. 

The season started off wet, said Scott Biddle, president and CEO of Vittoria, Ontario-based Scotlynn Group. That was followed by about 10 weeks of drought.

By the third week of June, rain was falling again, and conditions had “normalized,” he said.

Scotlynn has 5,000 acres of sweet corn, watermelon, asparagus, pumpkins and ginseng in Ontario, which are shipped under the Sweet-Pac label. Volume this season should be similar to last year, he said

The company kicked off its asparagus program the first week of May.

Pumpkins will start the last week of August and continue until the end of October.

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Scotland, Ontario-based Welsh Bros.’ premium sweet corn program was expected to start the week of July 10, said Charles Welsh, owner and president.

Like other growers, Welsh said growing weather had its ups and downs.

“We’ve had some hot, we’ve had some cold, we’ve had rain and we’ve had drought,” he said.

Quality will be “very good,” since growers were able to stay on top of irrigation despite dry weather.

Volume at Welsh Bros. should be about the same as last year.

The company services primarily independent supermarkets within Ontario, though Welsh would like to expand his distribution area.

Most chains shy away from his pricey premium product, he said, because they don’t understand what makes it special. Buyers who spend time in the produce department realize that the superior taste, quality and freshness are good for their business, he said.

“The customers who buy it come back and want more,” he said. “It gives our independent customers an advantage over their competition.”

Alliston, Ontario-based Ontario Potato Distributors Inc. will kick off its early white potato harvest sometime between July 15- 20, as usual, said Melissa Toste, operations manager.

Later potato crops will follow in mid-August, September and October.

The company also offers russet, red and yellow potatoes.

“We’ve had pretty warm temperatures this spring and summer, so a little more irrigation is going on, but it seems to be on schedule,” she said.

Quality should be good, she added.

OPDI ships year-round, and volume should be up slightly on all varieties compared to last year.

OPDI packs its potatoes under the Champion brand and also distributes private-label tubers for chain stores throughout Canada.

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Gads Hill, Ontario-based August’s Harvest Inc. will start harvesting seven varieties of garlic in July, but it already was shipping garlic scapes — the flower bud of the garlic plant — in June, said owner Warren Hamm. Garlic scapes are especially popular in Asian markets, he said. They’re available in June, July and August.

The company’s fresh garlic should be available until April.

Although spring weather was cooler than he would have liked, Hamm said the garlic is “looking very healthy and clean.”

Procyk Farms 1994 Ltd., Wilsonville, Ontario, should have a wide range of vegetables available by the second week of July, said Danny Procyk, crop manager and an owner of the company.

The firm’s product line includes tomatoes, grape tomatoes, roma tomatoes, sauce tomatoes, red and savoy cabbage, sweet corn, zucchini and red, yellow and green bell peppers.

Quality should be good this season, and volume will be similar to last year, Procyk said.

The fourth-generation, family-owned company serves customers on the Ontario Food Terminal as well as retail chains and foodservice operators.

Besides Danny Procyk, the company includes his brother Paul Procyk, who serves as president and handles sales; brother Mike Procyk, field manager and sales; and brother-in-law Rod Wheeler, who oversees field harvest.

Sustainability is top of mind

Scotlynn Group always focuses on being environmentally friendly and looking for ways to be sustainable, Biddle said. That includes the company’s equipment, fuel, trucks and its farming operation.

Operating sustainably can have a substantial initial cost, he said, but the long-term return on investment “is good for the business.”

Welsh said a successful grower has to be sustainable.

“We can’t grow a quality product if we’re not sustainable,” he said. “We have a limited land base that we have to reuse each year.”

Facing inflation

While inflation has been felt in Ontario as it has around the world, produce sales remain strong, especially in the potato category.

“Potatoes are still one of the cheapest commodities by pound that’s available in the grocery store,” said Toste of OPDI.

Consumers are still buying them, but they may be moving toward buying just what they are going to eat.

“They’re a little more conscientious about waste,” she said.