PAGE 12 –– SEPTEMBER 2010 THE GROWER
OFVGA SUMMER TOUR AND BBQ Tomato producers tap into Lake Erie’s fresh water
August 16 launched harvest of field tomatoes in the Leamington area. At the farm of Paul Tiessen, and his parents Martin and Suzanne, the mechanical harvester was staffed with a crew to manually discard the odd green tomatoes. About 10 days before harvest, the field is sprayed with Ethrel, which is derived from the plant hormone ethylene. This naturally hastens maturity and guarantees an even colour of all the tomatoes. Photos by Herb Sherwood.
A water permit and a 24-inch intake pipe built into Lake Erie have changed the lives of 13 growers in Essex County. Standing at the pump house in Leamington, Wayne Palichuk explained the journey of seven years to pass all the regulatory hurdles, including the Great Lakes Charter. This summer, the paperwork is all worth it as the Leamington Area Drip Irrigation (LADI) group harvests 2,500 acres of processing tomatoes after a droughty season. The 36-kilometre pipeline has 60 “stand-ups” or water outlets as far north as 7.5 kilometres from Leamington. Global Positioning Satellite technology allows the growers to lay down drip tape between the rows to optimize water penetration. Water rates are charged on a gallon per inch basis. In the second year of operation, the group has added two greenhouses to the system, a financially savvy move to amortize some of the costs over 12 months of the year. With a long-term goal of keeping competitive with California -- which is quickly running out of water – the foresight of this group to tap into the freshwater of Lake Erie has been rewarded by the Premier’s Award of $100,000. It’s not quite the lottery given the cost to the growers of $7.5 million. Their winnings have been plowed back into a telemetry system to more accurately measure water flows and to communicate data to smart phones for timely valve shut-offs.
Extreme weather in Essex County pressures producers and prices As a fifth-generation farmer, Keith Wright values his heritage of 280 acres conveniently located in one block near Harrow, Ontario. He and his wife Susan cultivate everything from apples to asparagus, cabbage, peaches and melons. At his location, all manner of weather has afflicted their crops. “First it was frost in May and then the tornado in June,” says Wright. “Then it was drought in July and bad markets in August.” All the crops have been early. Despite plantings a week apart, all the melons have ripened at once and the distribution channels are full of not only melons but early peaches and plums. Wright is placing his hopes on his Red Delicious and Gala apples. Other growers are still counting their losses from the tornado. Wright cites a neighbour who lost 100,000 peach seedlings. And greenhouses are still repairing roof damage.
Right: One call changes everything. The melon packing line ramped up to make a delivery from Wrightland Farms to the Ontario Food Terminal.