Flowers & Vegetable Grower Day

June 21, 2022
Join us for one or both days!

Cannabis Cultivation Grower Day

June 22, 2022
Join us for one or both days!

Grower Day is back LIVE in St. Catharines, ON
June 21-22, 2022
Holiday Inn & Conference Centre

Why should you attend?

FOCUS ON GROWERS

Greenhouse Canada presents the latest in research, technology and production practices for flower and vegetable growers. We’ll highlight new trends, tackle issues from a local perspective, and promote discussion among growers to advance the industry while improving your bottom line.

Grow Opportunity puts the spotlight on cannabis cultivation, examining trends and issues that impact cannabis producers. We’ll share expert insights on cultivation practices and business management trends to help grow your cannabis enterprise.

WHY ATTEND?

Grower Day is the conference and tradeshow for growers of ornamental plants, vegetables and cannabis. This two-day event features a powerhouse line-up of industry leaders sharing their expertise on cultivation, production and business management.

Hear from industry experts, share best practices, network with colleagues and see the latest innovation in products and services – all designed to help grow your commercial cultivation business.

A TRUSTED SOURCE

Celebrating over 40 years in print, Greenhouse Canada is proud to present its 27th Grower Day in conjunction with Grow Opportunity and Canadian Security.

Originally begun as a one-day educational event for greenhouse floriculture and vegetable growers in Ontario, Grower Day added a second day for the growing commercial cannabis sector in 2019. Held virtually in 2020 and 2021, the event is back live and in-person for 2022.

If you are a commercial greenhouse grower, licensed cannabis producer or researcher/student in these sectors, don’t miss out!

Attend Grower Day
Get ready to discover new technologies and solutions

8:30 – 9:00 am	Registration
9:00 – 9:15 am	Welcoming remarks – Introduction to Greenhouse Technology Network Speaker: Rita Sterne, PhD (Mgmt), Greenhouse Technology Network Meet the day’s moderator, Rita Sterne, and learn more about the work of the GTN as well as collaborative funding opportunities available.
9:15 – 9:45 am	Greenhouse predators: The new and the notable Speaker: Rose Buitenhuis, PhD, Vineland Research & Innovation Centre Learn about the latest greenhouse predatory generalist to join the IPM toolbox and discover other exciting biocontrol agents in the pipeline.
9:45 – 10:15 am	Handling plant stress like a pro Speaker: Michael Brownbridge, PhD, BioWorks There are stressful moments and conditions in a plant's life that can make it hard to produce the brightest blooms or the tastiest of fruit. From nutrition to biostimulants, here's how to best prepare your plants for the road bumps ahead.
10:15 – 10:45 am	Networking break Enjoy a coffee, tea and treat while meeting vendors and networking with industry peers.
10:45 – 11:30 am	There’s something in the water Speakers: Fadi Al-Daoud, PhD, OMAFRA Thomas Graham, PhD, University of Guelph With the many water treatments available for filtration and disinfection, how can you make an informed decision? Learn about key options available on the market and the importance of water testing, then hear about the latest research on new technologies for disinfection.
11:30 – 12:00 pm	Growing on auto-pilot Speakers: Niki Bennett, Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers; Ronald Hoek, Blue Radix a Growers have heard about the values of artificial intelligence and autonomous greenhouse cultivation, but how do they translate into real world results? See the latest updates from collaborative trials conducted by Blue Radix and OGVG with small, medium and large greenhouse operators.
12:00 – 1:30 pm	Lunch Networking Break Enjoy a full hot lunch while networking with exhibitors and peers.
1:30 – 2:00 pm	The least energy-efficient areas of your greenhouse and what to do about them Speakers: Chevonne Dayboll, PhD, OMAFRA James Dyck, PEng, OMAFRA Making upgrades for energy efficiency can be a daunting task. In this presentation, OMAFRA specialists will help you pinpoint the areas using the most energy, where best to make investments and how to prioritize them.
2:00 – 2:30 pm	Adapting to a different mix Speaker: Brian Cantin, Berger Making changes to your growing mix? Whether its water, nutrition or other factors, learn how to adapt your production practices to different media components and blends.
2:30 – 3:00 pm	Networking break Enjoy a coffee, tea and treat while meeting vendors and networking with industry peers.
3:00 – 3:40 pm	Poinsettia Culture 101 Speaker: Gary Vollmer, Selecta North America Sometimes it's best to start from basics - then revise them. Go through best production practices from start to end, and get ideas on how to grow the best poinsettia possible.
3:30 – 4:00 pm	The future of dynamic LED lighting Speaker: Rose Séguin, Sollum Technologies What has supplemental lighting allowed growers to achieve? What might it achieve? Learn about the applications for dynamic LED lighting and dive into case studies where light intensity and spectra impact both floral and vegetable crops.
4:00pm	Awards presentation and closing Celebrate the winners of this year’s Grower of the Year and Top 4 Under 40 awards. Thank you to Paul Boers and Prins for their support of the Top 4 Under 40 program.

8:30 – 9:00 am	Registration
9:00 – 9:15 am	Welcome remarks
9:15 – 9:45 am	Keynote: Where business and cultivation come together Speakers: Rick Dykstra, director and assistant head of security, Dykstra Greenhouses Bart Brouwer, vice-president, Dykstra Greenhouses Peter DeVries, general manager and head of processing, Dykstra Greenhouses Natalie Van Hoffen, manager of communications, Dykstra Greenhouses At any successful cannabis company, the key ingredients are good people and teamwork. Join us for this panel discussion featuring four key members of Dykstra Greenhouses, a family owned and operated licensed producer in St. Catharines, Ont.. The chat will be a free-flowing one in which the Dykstra team explains how they work together on a daily basis to build their brand and grow quality cannabis in their 40,000 square-foot grow space.
9:45 – 10:15 am	Waste Audits for LPs Speaker: Mika Unterman Cannabis LPs produce an unsustainable amount of waste. Packaging often gets the most publicity, but most waste occurs at the manufacturing level. This session will explore how much of your precious and scarce capital ends up in the garbage, or down the drain because you’re not examining your waste. You will also learn why a waste audit is "low hanging fruit" from a sustainability perspective — it does not require capital, only time, and the benefit of finding additional revenue streams in your waste has a very quick ROI and long term impact.
10:15 – 10:45 am	The future of cannabis: What lies ahead Speaker: Mitchell Osak, CEO, Quanta Consulting Inc. The one constant in Canada's cannabis sector is its dynamism. Industry change is afoot. The key questions are where, how and when. Mitchell Osak, CEO of Quanta Consulting, will look ahead to what tomorrow might bring for Canada’s cannabis industry, when it comes to potential changes to The Cannabis Act, the business opportunities that LPs should keep an eye on, looming business risks and where innovation is taking the sector.
10:45 – 11:30 am	What Canadian Budtenders Can Teach LPs Speaker: Katie Pringle, CEO, Marigold Marketing & PR In celebration of Budtender Appreciation Week this past March, Tether surveyed 300+ cannabis retail workers from across Canada to learn more about what they want from cannabis brands and their role in the industry. Katie Pringle, CEO, Marigold Marketing & PR, will share insights from this survey, which was specifically designed for cannabis marketers, sales reps and brands who are looking to develop marketing campaigns, consumer brand preferences and product recommendations to assist both budtenders and consumers alike.
11:30 – 12:00 am	Owning the Channel: Becoming the Preferred Retail Partner in the Canadian Cannabis Space Speaker: Mariah Macfarlane, Territory Manager, Tantalus Labs This session aims to answer the question: How does a cannabis LP become the preferred cannabis partner to retailers in Canada? Learn how this is done through developing a strong and trusted brand, leveraging your existing infrastructure, and maximizing your reach.
12:00 – 1:30 pm	Lunch break Enjoy a full hot lunch while networking with exhibitors and peers.
1:30 – 2:00 pm	Cultivation KPIs for LPs Speaker: Jayson Goodale, Senior Lead - Risk Advisory , Deloitte Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) are metrics that aid operations on how efficiently cultivators are using assets and processes available in production. KPI's fundamentally let us know when growers are doing it right and where things may be going wrong. In this session we will discuss what it takes to effectively establish KPI's that increase cannabis productivity, drive growth and profit.
2:00 – 2:30 pm	Quality assurance