Pea harvest has started for all facilities with both heavy rainfall and a heat wave. Yields have been strong. 

The first Leamington beans are starting to see the beginning of bloom coming which means the countdown to harvest for mid July is underway. Planting of Snap beans and Lima Beans continue for all regions

Sweet corn planting is almost completed for both Ingersoll and Tecumseh facilities. The early crop looks about budget. There has also been significant rainfall resulting in water holes. If growers have experienced some crop injury due to rainfall, we recommend them open a claim with crop insurance.

Supplied by Stefany Snobelen

OPVG and Nortera have hired third party agency, Farm to Fork Food Safety, to complete an inspection of pea tenderometers at the Ingersoll, Strathroy and Tecumseh plants. This protocol was developed and implemented to ensure proper function and verification of the tenderometer readings' accuracy.

The inspections were completed during the first week of harvest. The tenderometers have been reporting within an accurate range. Farm to Fork Food Safety will continue to complete inspections as pea harvest progresses.

Recent updates to Farm Credit Canada’s (FCC) Transition Loan provide a new financing option for agriculture and agri-food business owners planning to transfer farm or business assets.

FCC has updated its Transition Loan to better support farmers and agri-food business owners who are buying or selling a farm or business. One of the changes is the option to spread payments to the seller over a period of up to 10 years. This added flexibility can help ease the transfer process, whether the transition is happening within the family or to someone outside it.

More details on the loan can be found HERE or visit the FCC website.

As farms use more and more technology in daily operations – from computers to robotics, drones, software, etc. – there also comes an increased potential for online threats.

Here are some tips for protecting your farm business from cyber attacks.

1. Make a plan. What would happen if you had a data breach on your farm? Planning ahead and writing it down will help reduce the damage and downtime.
2. Back it up. Do you have a system in place that regularly backs up your information? Think about also storing critical information in a separate secure location.
3. Change it up. Change passwords regularly and ensure every employee has their own password when using farm software. Also consider if you need multifactor authentication codes for accessing farm information.
4. Watch for scams. Know how to identify emails that may be phishing (online attacks that attempt to steal information, money, etc.). Here are some warning signs – sender’s name doesn’t match the email address, grammatical errors, emails asking for personal information or urge immediate action and generic greetings.
5. Install antivirus. Make sure you have antivirus software installed on all devices. And be sure to perform regular updates, it’s one of the best ways to protect against online threats.

The Columbia Sportswear Employee store is offering OPVG members 40% off the entire store. The store is located at 1425 Max Brose Dr. in London, ON.

• The OPVG offer is valid until September 3rd.
• For store access, please provide your digital invitation (printed or shown on your mobile device)
• Invitees can bring up to four additional guests with each visit.
• This offer is for store access only (not valid online).  

The digital invitation can be found HERE.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Canada Day! The OPVG office will be closed on Tuesday, July 1st and will reopen Wednesday July 2nd.

OPVG office hours

8:00 am – 4:00 pm 

Monday to Friday

519.681.1875 opvg@opvg.org