(left) Greg Marsh, president at Northern Hemp Specialists, is with Laurie Zuber, horticulture technologist with NC’s Commercial Cannabis Program. Update as of May 12, 2021: Northern Hemp Specialists now have licensed producers buying their product and have launched their own website. They are getting market-ready for the United States and working with Health Canada and USDA, and are looking to export the product in the … Continue reading Testing a pioneering organic silica product »

If sophisticated weather data analysis is any indication, Mother Nature does not have a farm-friendly forecast in store for Southern Ontario growers.   Instead of historically predictable weather – one reason Niagara has flourished as the fruit belt – one high-tech projection is calling for more significant, more extreme, and more variable rain rates. This according to forensic weather data processed and analyzed by Niagara College’s … Continue reading ‘Unique’ climate data can help farmers prepare: NC researcher »

Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered multispectral imaging camera sensors are revolutionizing the modern agricultural landscape. With specialized remote-sensing technology, farmers have even more visual information to monitor crop anomalies and manage their fields more efficiently. Multispectral imaging – whether aboard an aerial drone or land robot – provides precise, targeted information that the human eye is incapable of seeing by capturing different bands of light. This technology … Continue reading Empowering farmers with high technology, low cost »

Flooding, severe storms, shorter winters, droughts – all of these weather conditions can have a significant impact on crops. Agriculture meteorologists offer specific weather forecasts to help farmers make decisions regarding their crops, or even preventative decisions if necessary. What if looking at weather data differently allowed growers the opportunity to determine crop suitability according to their region? And what does the data show for … Continue reading NC experts plant research seeds at OFVC »

It may seem to the casual observer a big leap between human cardiac research and molecular screening of plant cell cultures. But like every other living organism, the cell is the basic building block – and the study of both comes down to basic science for Derek Schulze. The biologist carried out research in both fields before arriving at Niagara College in 2016 to teach … Continue reading Derek Schulze: Cultivating a scientist »

Energy costs have always been a challenge for greenhouse operations. Yet for one Ontario innovator, their advanced renewable energy technology may present a new opportunity for growers to reduce electricity costs as well as carbon footprint, while increasing crop yields. Heliene Inc. is a Sault Ste. Marie-based solar technology manufacturer working with Niagara College to trial herb crops grown under Heliene’s greenhouse integrated photovoltaic module … Continue reading Growing trial for greenhouse solar panels »