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CONFINE: FINALLY A REGISTERED PHOSPHOROUS ACID FUNGICIDE FOR GRAPE DOWNY MILDEW
Ontario grape growers now have access to a phosphorous acid fungicide to control downy mildew. OMAFRA has worked with the Agronomy Company of Canada, the Grape Growers of Ontario and the Pest Management Regulatory Agency to achieve an emergency registration of Confine fungicide on grapes in 2010.
Phosphorous acid is systemic: it moves from treated tissue into new tissues as they develop. It gives good to excellent protective activity and prevents lesion development when applied 3-4 days after infection. It also reduces spore production when applied to existing lesions.
The labelled rate is 2.9 L/500 L pre-bloom or 5.8L/1000 L post-bloom. Concentration is important: using less than the labelled rate may result in incomplete control while exceeding the rate can result in burning.
Loss of activity of phosphorous acid fungicides has been reported in other crops time after long and repeated use. Do not tarnish this “silver bullet” by misusing it: practice resistance management by rotating it with other chemistries.
Confine has a 4 hour re-entry period and a 1 day pre-harvest interval.
AGRICULTURE AND AGRIFOOD CANADA
AgriInvest Deposits Now Accepted At Financial Institutions
Ottawa, Ontario, July 19, 2010 – AgriInvest Deposit Notices will start to appear in producers’ mailboxes over the coming weeks with information on how and where to make their 2009 AgriInvest deposit.
Producers can now make their AgriInvest deposits at a participating financial institution of their choice. Moving AgriInvest accounts closer to where producers live and work gives them the flexibility to keep track of their funds more easily and to earn a competitive rate of interest on their deposits.
Producers must open an account at their local financial institution and make their 2009 AgriInvest deposit by the deadline indicated on their Deposit Notice to receive a matching contribution from governments.
Existing funds currently held by the federal government will be transferred to the producer’s AgriInvest account held at their financial institution. Producers can request a withdrawal from their AgriInvest account through their financial institution at any time throughout the year.
AgriInvest is a business risk management program under Growing Forward, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative. AgriInvest helps farmers manage small income declines. Every year, farmers can make a deposit based on a percentage of their Allowable Net Sales and receive matching contributions from governments.
The program is delivered by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in all provinces except Quebec where it is delivered by La Financière agricole du Québec (FADQ). In Quebec, deposits will continue to be held by la FADQ.
To learn more about AgriInvest, visit the program website at www.agr.gc.ca/agriinvest or call AAFC toll free at 1-866-367-8506.
For more information, media may contact:
Media Relations
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
613-773-7972
1-866-345-7972
WINERY & GROWER ALLIANCE OF ONTARIO APPOINTS NIAGARA BUSINESS LEADER PATRICK GEDGE TO PRESIDENT AND CEO
On behalf of the Winery & Grower Alliance of Ontario and all of its members I am delighted to announce the appointment of Patrick Gedge to President and CEO of our Alliance.
Patrick joins us from the Niagara Economic Development Corporation and Tourism Niagara where as CEO he led the organization for the past six years and was responsible for driving Niagara's Economic Growth Strategy. We are extremely pleased that we attracted an individual of his caliber for our growing organization.
Since we created the WGAO in December 2009, the Alliance has been focused on bringing wineries and grape growers together to develop progressive policies for the future success of the entire Ontario wine industry.
The appointment of Patrick is a significant milestone in our pursuit to build a world class, long term, sustainable grape and wine industry in the Province. Patrick joins us on August 20th.
Sincerely,
Anthony Bristow
Chair
Winery & Grower Alliance of Ontario
P.O. Box 10473
Winona, ON
L8E 5R1
Phone (905) 643-5666
To view the press release, please click here.
NORMAN HARDIE CRAFTING WINES FROM NIAGARA AND THE COUNTRY
To view this article from The St. Catharines Standard, click
http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=2661992
VQA REGULATION CHANGES EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2010
July 5, 2010
The following VQA regulation changes took effect on July 1, 2010.
Crown caps for still wines
Metal crown caps are now permitted for use on all still wines. Crown caps have previously been permitted for sparkling wines only.
Sweetness Descriptors deregulated for table wines
The declaration of a sweetness descriptor on the label of a table wine will no longer be subject to regulations that specify limits on residual sugar. The optional descriptors dry, off-dry, semi-dry, medium-dry, semi-sweet and sweet may now be used at the discretion of the winery. Labelling rules for sweetness descriptors remain in effect for sparkling, fortified and liqueur wines and for Icewine.
The LCBO is expected to introduce its new (optional) sweetness descriptor system later in 2010.
VQA Ontario
1 Yonge Street, Suite 1601
Toronto, ON M5E 1E5
Tel: 416-367-2002
Fax: 416-367-4044
Email: info@vqaontario.ca
PREMIER'S AWARD FOR AGRI-FOOD INNOVATION EXCELLENCE
To view this article from The Windsor Star, click
http://www.windsorstar.com/life/Essex+County+grape+call/3114924/story.html
AN AFFORDABLE SIPPER FROM MEGALOMANIAC HITS THE SHELVES
To view this article from The St. Catharines Standard, click
http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=2608924
IS DISASTER FERMENTING IN ONTARIO'S GREENBELT?
To view this article from the Fruit and Vegetable Magazine, click
http://www.fruitandveggie.com/content/view/3137/96/
McGuinty Government Strengthens VQA Wines
Ontario is investing in the success and long-term sustainability of its Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) wines.
The province is supporting VQA wines and Ontario grape growers through the following initiatives:
- Starting this year, the successful VQA Wine Support Program will be renewed with an investment of $6 million per year over five years
- Marketing and tourism activities in the wine regions of the province will be supported by an investment of $3 million per year over five years - an increase of $1 million per year from the previous years
- Starting in 2011, Ontario will provide $3 million per year over four years to help grape growers transition to a long-term focus on VQA wines.
These investments are part of the government's broader, long-term plan for Ontario's wine and grape industry. The plan, announced last October, builds on the success and competitiveness of Ontario's wine and grape industry.
These investments also support the province's new five year Open Ontario plan to create new opportunities for jobs and growth.
To view the announcement, click
http://www.news.ontario.ca/mcs/en/2010/04/supporting-ontarios-wine-and-grape-industry.html
EXPLAINING SUPPORT FOR VQA WINE IN THE ONTARIO RESTAURANT INDUSTRY
Two CCOVI Fellows that are from the Faculty of Business, Brock University, wrote a report that explains the support for VQA wine in the Ontario restaurant industry.
To view this report, click here.
FUTURE OF THE DOMESTIC WINE INDUSTRY IS IN VQA
Re: Craitor sends wine industry a message (March 13).
Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor is correct in defending his government's legislative changes because they will redress imbalances that currently favor the Cellared-in-Canada hegemony.
Anthony Bristow, chairman of the Winery & Grower Alliance of Ontario and chief operating officer of Grimsby-based Andrew Peller Ltd., fails to mention that roughly 70% of their 90% of total industry sales consists of imported wine and that, by virtue of their size, CIC blenders have a stranglehold on the growers and have forced them to kowtow to their efforts to derail government proposals, and that their 9% retail margin is actually closer to 70% integrated manufacturing/ retail margin so the 10% surtax on CIC wines barely makes a dent in the enormous advantage they have over VQA wines. He also fails to mention they have just torn up all the grape contracts they have with their grower partners.
There is an important concept to consider that generally gets lost in the CIC/VQA debate -- access to the government-owned distribution monopoly, the LCBO. Wine production in Ontario is expensive because we have a legislated cost structure -- minimum wage, regulatory burdens, environmental laws and regulated grape prices. Cheap wine brought in from other countries is either free of this burden or subsidized by those countries or both. Is it fair for government to impose a hefty cost burden -- that presumably benefits our society as a whole -- on our local industry and then turn local producers away from the government-owned distribution system because they aren't competitive with unregulated producers from around the world?
A better solution would be to allocate a decent amount of shelf space at the LCBO to producers of pure local product (VQA wines) and let them compete for that space.
Under this approach CIC wines could be phased out and if today's blenders want to sell Chilean wine it could go in the Chilean section of the LCBO.
Likely the growers, in the interim, will have discovered the VQA producers are their true allies and they will have entered into new contracts with more predictable partners.
Under this scenario, the grape surplus will disappear and many new jobs will be created in Ontario.
Jim Young
Chairman, Angels Gate Winery Beamsville
OPEN LETTER TO NIAGARA WINE INDUSTRY
March 10, 2010
I have received so many emails and phone calls about the efforts of Andrew Peller Limited and Vincor's attempt to get the government to rescind the government’s recent initiative to ensure that 100% of the Ontario grape crop gets put into bottles and not end up on the ground that I feel I should publish this response as an open letter to the industry so Niagara’s grape growers can decide from a position of knowing another point of view on this issue.
The so-called Winery and Growers Alliance is in fact a lobby group for the handful of giant wineries that enjoy a monopoly position in the trade of “Cellared in Canada” (CIC) wines.
Unfortunately they own this monopoly at the expense of the grape growers and taxpayers of Ontario – and now they are using their privileged position to threaten the livelihood of Ontario grape growers.
Some background may be helpful in understanding why the government moved last fall to insure that Ontario grown grapes ended up in the bottles of Ontario vintners and not on the ground.
Two years ago the Ontario Government provided $4 million to Ontario grape growers for non-contracted grapes. At the same time, the CIC monopoly imported many more tons of off shore grapes from foreign countries. Last year 9,000 tons of great Ontario grapes were not purchased as these same companies imported more than 35,000 tons of imported juice.
Seventy percent of this offshore wine stock is blended with 30 percent Ontario wine stock. Some of it is sold through the LCBO at the same mark-up rate as all other wines. Most of it is sold through their offsite winery retail stores, where these so called “Ontario” wines enjoyed a hugely preferential mark-up or tax rate.
Four companies own 95% of these off-site winery retail stores.
These companies abuse their monopoly by giving preference to CIC wines and foreign grapes, at the expense of VQA wines and Ontario grapes.
The perverse result of this policy had been that the Government of Ontario was in effect subsidizing the grape growing industry of Chile, Australia and some other countries, while Ontario grapes were withering on the vine and Ontario growers were in danger of losing their farms.
Obviously this was unsustainable, especially if we want to grow the Ontario wine industry, not destroy it. That is why a year ago the government asked both the grape growers and the vintners to sit down and submit a strategy that would ensure the health of the Ontario wine industry. They failed to agree. As a result the Government signaled a change in its direction to assist this important Ontario industry.
The government's position is that it no longer wishes to subsidize off-shore wine by preferential tax policies. It would also like to eliminate the confusion between Cellared in Canada and Ontario wines.
It wants especially to promote and support the VQA wine segment, and that is why it is continuing the important Market Enhancement Program for VQA wines sold in the LCBO.
The government has set a clear direction and provided for a transition period. By 2014, along with a continuing market for imported wines, we expect to see an increasingly thriving VQA industry, one in which all appropriate varietals grown in Ontario will be in bottles and not left to wither once again on the vine.
The Winery and Growers Alliance would do better to focus its efforts on working in partnership with Ontario grape growers to ensure a thriving industry, not threatening grape growers with punitive contract arrangements.
Sincerely
Kim Craitor, MPP (Niagara Falls)
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
February 18, 2010
To Members of the Grape Growers of Ontario
Yesterday many of you may have received letters from the following wineries:
Andrew Peller Ltd., Colio Estate Wines, Magnotta Winery and Vincor Canada confirming statements made over the past few weeks that they will be reviewing long term supply agreements. As you are aware the Cellared in Canada (CIC) manufacturers are reacting to the October 13th, 2009 Government of Ontario announcement that will increase the tax levy on blended wines sold in winery retail stores effective July 1, 2010. While this impact is viewed as regressive by the CIC manufacturers the following facts outline the advantages they will receive from the announcement.
The Facts:
The government plan to focus the entire industry on growing VQA wine includes a 10% reduction in the tax advantage on blended wines sold in winery retail stores. Wine sold through Winery Retail Stores is subject to lower government levies than wine sold through the LCBO. Currently an $8.00 bottle of wine sold through the LCBO incurs $5.10 in taxes and levies as compared to the same bottle of wine sold at the Winery Retail store which incurs $2.07 in taxes and levies. The 10% surtax increases the overall levy to $2.72.
The government revenue generated from this initiative goes directly back to the industry to fund industry programs:
- $6 million/ year renewal of the VQA wine support program to promote sales of VQA wines through LCBO stores;
- $3 million/ year renewal of the marketing program for Ontario VQA wines;
- $3 million winery infrastructure program offered by GGO as a plan for 2010 to increase winery capacity and ultimately increase Ontario grape purchases;
- Change in Cellared in Canada (CIC) content to 40% by company and 25% in the bottle. The 5% reduction in the Ontario content by bottle is to ensure adequate quantities of Ontario vinifera grapes are available for VQA wine. This change in content provides approximately $2 million savings on grape purchases.
The GGO sees this current action of the CIC manufacturers as unhelpful in building a progressive grape and wine industry. The GGO is aware of the current situation and has consulted with legal counsel, and following proposed meetings with the two large CIC manufacturers a course of action will be determined. The GGO will advise growers of their next steps.
Please contact the GGO for further information:
Debbie Zimmerman, CEO
905 688-0990.
Yours truly,
Bill George Jr, Chair
Grape Growers of Ontario
ESTABLISHMENT & PRODUCTION COSTS FOR GRAPES IN ONTARIO
To view this report, please click here.
PEST MANAGEMENT CENTRE NEWS
The Pest Management Centre at Canada's Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has new information available on its website. Visit the PMC website to view the latest information.
Click here to review the status of all Minor Use Pesticides Projects sorted by crop.
Click here to review the document entitled "Identification Guide to the Major Diseases of Grapes".
WIND MACHINES FOR MINIMIZING COLD INJURY
For more information on wind machines minimizing cold injury, please click on the latest infosheet.
WINE COUNTRY ENHANCEMENT REPORT
To view this report entitled "Energizing Niagara's Wine Country Communities", please click here for cover, click here for report.
CROP PROTECTION WIND MACHINES
For more information on crop protection and wind machines, please click on http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/engineer/facts/windmach_info.htm.
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