Newsletter August
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In the vineyard A Message From Your Board Chair Harvest Reminders GGO Updates Grape King Update PPE Resources for Growers 2020 Grapes for Sale and Wanted August 2020 A message from your Board Chair Pricing On July 27th the Grape Growers of Ontario and the Processors came to a consen- sus on the 2020 grape prices, with an overall price increase of 1% for grape class- es 5-10. We are also pleased to announce that on August 19th an agreement was reached with Wine Growers Ontario for Classes 1, 2 and 3. The price for Class 2 (Niagara and Wiley White) was increased from $495 to $525, and an overall price in- crease of 1% was agreed to for each variety as outlined below. I extend my thanks to the Board and Staff for their diligent work during negotiations this year and we wish everyone the best during the 2020 harvest. Class 2019 Neutralization of 2020 Price % Change Price Class 1 & 2 1 - Concord $525 $530 1.00% 2 - Niagara $495 $525 $530 1.00% 3 - Sov. Coronation $601 $607 1.00% Harvest Weigh bills were sent to all growers and processors on Monday, August 17th. Click here to view the pre-harvest pack- age which will be available on eGrape in the coming days. Brix schedules will be available in the coming weeks. If you require additional weigh bills or a hard copy of the harvest package please contact Nick Lemieux at nlemieux@grape- growersofontario.com or at 905-688-0990. Government Update At the end of July it was announced that a partial agreement regarding Australia’s World Trade Organization chal- lenge against Canada had been reached, which was agreed upon by all grape and wine industry partners along with the provincial and federal governments. The Grape Growers of Ontario thank Hon. Bill Morneau, Canada’s Minister of Finance, for the support he gave Canada’s grape and wine industry over the last five years and for his recognition of the financial impact our industry provides to the national economy. We wish Minister Morneau well in his future en- deavors, and welcome Hon. Chrystia Freeland as the new Minister of Finance. We look forward to working with Minis- ter Freeland on current industry issues, including Australia’s WTO challenge and the federal government’s commitment to develop an excise replacement program that supports 100% domestic content. Provincially, the Grape Growers of Ontario welcome John Kelly as Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. John has previously held executive roles with DNAstack Inc., Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Growers’ Association, MaRS Landing, and Bioenterprise Corporation. John’s extensive experience will be an asset in his new role with OMA- FRA, and we look forward to meeting with him soon to provide an update on Ontario’s grape and wine industry. COVID-19 Updates With harvest right around the corner, it is critical that all growers continue to follow COVID-19 protocols, and work with the Public Health Units to ensure the health and safety of all farm employees. You are encouraged to contact your local Public Health Unit with any questions or concerns you may have. Click here for the Niagara Region Public Health F.A.Q. document. Niagara Region Public Health has provided an update regarding Housing Barriers - click here to view. Growers are reminded that LMIA’s for the 2021 season will be accepted, during the prescribed timelines only, and housing inspections and job advertisements are not currently required. Niagara Region Public Health 905-688-8248, press 7, then press 3 https://www.niagararegion.ca/health/covid-19/reopen/farm- ers.aspx HARVESTare you ready?IS COMING COVID-19: We are currently engaging with the processors to ensure there are limited disruptions during the 2020 harvest as a result of COVID-19 restrictions. We will keep our membership appraised of any and all best practices that should be followed. eGrape - your harvest toolkit Growers and processors can use eGrape to do the following: • Spray reporting • View and print vineyard block mapping • Enter weigh bills • Check brix results • Download processor and grower summary reports Pre-harvest packages will be available on eGrape in the coming days. A notification will be sent to the membership once brix schedules are available to view on eGrape.ca. Reminders: • Always check with your processor prior to harvesting any grapes. • Grapes must be entered into eGrape within 72 hours of harvesting. • Brix testing is required on all scheduled varieties and any processed grapes being submitted for VQA. • Brix results will be available on eGrape within 24-36 hours from the time the sample was taken. An email notification will also be sent to all primary contacts. Cheque day: Monday, November 16, 2020 All grapes harvested on or before November 6, 2020 must be entered into eGrape and cheques must be dropped off or arrive viacourier to the GGO offices no later than November 11, 2020. Protocols for cheque day will be sent to all growers closer to the date. If you have any questions or concerns during the course of the 2020 harvest please contact Nick Lemieux at 905-688-0990 ext 228 or at [email protected] Updates from the GGO Farm gate signs We have recently updated the farm gate signs to include the new VQA logo and GGO slogan “We grow the wines you love”, Click here to view the new application form. Please send completed forms and direct any questions to Gillian at [email protected] Bird Control With harvest fast approaching grape growers using propane cannons are reminded to operate them only when birds are feeding (dawn to dusk) which starts at about 30 minutes before sunrise, and ends about 30 minutes after sunset, when there is enough light for birds to forage. It is considered normal farm practice to operate between this period, but never operate propane-fired-bird-scaring cannons, or electronic bird scarers outside of this time period. For more information and resources on how to keep birds at bay, please visit our website at http://www.grapegrowersofontario.com/1234. #BetweenTheVines This August a weekly video series titled #Be- tweenTheVines was launched to showcase the hard word and dedication of our grape growing families. Featured growers include John Fedorkow, Aaron Oppenlaender, Albrecht Seeger, Chris Van De Laar and Will George. To see the videos you can visit any of our social media pages (Twitter, Instagram, Face- book) or click here for our YouTube channel. @grapegrowersont Grape Growers of Ontario Weather stations The GGO has been working on developing a new weather monitoring network across all of Ontario’s major grape growing regions. This new network is real-time down to the minute and can now be accessed through www.egrape.ca or download the free Davis Weatherlink app from the app store or Google play. Over the next month the GGO will be launching additional stations throughout the province in the to build a more fulsome network. For further information, please contact the GGO at 905-688-0990. Grape King Update John Fedorkow We extend our thanks to John Fedorkow, who has accepted the the Board of Director’s request to extend his tenure as Grape King for an additional year. John will be the first Grape King in history to serve two years, which highlights the unique times we have been faced with this year. We thank John for his dedication to date, and he has done a terrific job serving as ambassador to the industry despite the re- strictions in place since March 2020. We look forward to working with him in the weeks and months ahead to continue to promote our world-class 100% Ontario-grown wines. While we are unable to host to host our Annual Celebrity Luncheon to celebrate harvest and kick off the Niagara Grape and Wine Festival, we look forward to welcoming you all in September 2021. LCBO Sales Report - Quarter 1 Report ending June 20, 2020 This is the first quarter (Q1) report for the 2020-2021 fiscal Growth in Sales Rolling year end. All statistics are reported for the 12 months (13 13 Periods to June 20, rolling periods) ending June 20, 2020, unless otherwise noted. 2020 Total sales of wine in Ontario, including imports increased +3.8% in volume (litres) and increased at +4.2% in value (dol- Total Wine sold in Ontario 4.2% 3.8% lars) in the rolling 13 periods. Imported 3.7% VQA sales were down -1.5% by volume and -1.0% in value. 2.7% Non-VQA/IDB sales are up +5.1% in volume (litres) and value Total Ontario (VQA & IDB) 5.1% 5.1% (dollars). Non-V QA/IDB 9.4% 7.5% Quarter 1 is from April 1 to June 20, 2020 and includes the COVID lock-down. Wine sales overall are up +5.1% litres with VQA -1.0% non-VQA/IDB leading the way at +18.4%, imports are down -1.5% -0.7% and VQA -6.5% in litres. Rolling 13 dollars Rolling 13 litres Custom Propagation Program with CGCN Why plant clean vines? • Grapevine viruses and other pathogens have be- come a serious threat to the health and quality of grapevines by delaying maturity, reducing soluble solids (sugar), increasing acids, and reducing the return to growers and wineries. • Grapevine viruses are most commonly spread from an infected vine through planting material. Some viruses will quickly multiply and spread in growers’ fields, if vectors are present. Custom Propagation is defined as a grape grower and/ or winery enlisting the services of a nursery to propagate a specific number of grapevines from a section of their own vineyard (propagation block) and then purchasing the resulting grapevines for their own uses.