Christmas Tree Farmers of Ontario 2024 Field Day
Following the excitement of last year’s Christmas Tree Farmers of Ontario (CTFO) Field Day, the University of Waterloo’s Christmas Tree Lab was delighted to be in attendance once again at the 2024 Field Day on August 17 at Cedar Hill Christmas Tree Farm.
Similar to last year’s experience, the lab team was able to learn a lot about Christmas tree growing operations and the current challenges in the industry from extremely knowledgeable growers in the field. Additionally, the day was an excellent opportunity to connect with growers in-person and foster connections over casual conversations throughout the day.
The agenda for the day was packed with insightful presentations and knowledge sharing opportunities.
The Day at a Glance
The day began with warm welcoming words from the CTFO board and an introduction to the hosting farm, Grant and Pam Martin. Long-term legacy members were highlighted and celebrated for their lasting impressions on the Christmas tree industry as a whole.
Following the introductory words, presentations began starting with a carousel of information sessions. Matt Wright, a member of the Canadian Christmas Trees Association (CCTA) and NECTRA, gave a presentation on the projects their organization is currently working on. John Patterson, also a member of CCTA and an entomologist from Somerville Nurseries, provided a presentation on pest surveys and management approaches. Lastly, Barb Keith from the Ontario Soil Crop Improvement Association delivered a presentation on different programs available for Christmas tree farmers to access additional resources and funding.
Next, Dr. Debalina Saha from the Michigan State University’s Department of Horticulture provided a presentation on her team’s research regarding various chemical and non-chemical approaches for effective weed management control in Christmas tree production.
Afterwards, everyone was divided into two groups - one group joined Grant on a peoplemover as they took a tour around the farm to learn more about its operations. Meanwhile, the other group attended our Christmas Tree Lab presentation and workshop, and switched once each group had finished.
About the Workshop
Our team started the presentation by providing updates about the current status of our study and anticipated timeline moving forward. We elaborated on the goals of our study and emphasized our community collaboration approach to support partnerships and ensure the needs of the industry are being met. With this, we dived into our workshop session where we facilitated open-ended questions about the farmer’s experiences with growing Christmas trees under changing climate conditions. Through these conversations, growers were able to share their thoughts and personal observations of any changes they were noticing, and listen as others shared similar or contrasting accounts from their experiences in different areas across Ontario. The insights that were shared provided our team with new perspectives of the impacts that are being experienced by the Christmas tree industry at this time. This helped to give us direction of what matters growers are currently most concerned about and how to prioritize the next steps of our study based on the information we were hearing.
End of Day Remarks
After both groups had the chance to go on the farm tour and attend our presentation, everyone gathered again for closing presentations and remarks. Jennifer Doelman of Bonnechere Haven Farms delivered an inspiring presentation on women in agriculture. Grant Martin presented on soil analysis, tissue tests, amendments and fertilizers to provide more context to the content that was covered during his farm tours. Final remarks were given by the CTFO board before concluding for the day.
Overall, our team from the Christmas Tree Lab appreciated the opportunity to attend and participate in the 2024 CTFO Field Day. Through this experience, we were able to learn more about the current scope of the industry, deepen our connections with local Christmas tree growers, and continue to support our collaboration efforts with CTFO. We look forward to attending the 2025 Field Day, where we will be able to share results of our study with the Christmas tree community.
