Ontario Growers Support Flowers Canada

By Greenhouse Grower staff|April 16, 2008

The Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission asked Ontario growers to vote for or against mandatory assessment from Flowers Canada and the fees they that fund the organization, and the majority of growers showed their support.

According to the OFPMC, 78.4 percent of growers who participated in the mail-in vote are indeed in favor of Flowers Canada as their representative association for all greenhouse growers of cut flowers, potted plants, annual bedding plants and propagative plant materials.

Growers also showed their support for annual licensing fees, which charge growers 2 cents per square foot of greenhouse area or a maximum of $13,000. The OFPMC uses its fees to stimulate, increase and improve the producing or marketing of greenhouse floriculture products in Ontario.

“The commission needed to see a clear majority of growers supporting such a request before we could confidently proceed with a recommendation to the minister, and that is reflected in this outcome,” says Dave Hope, chair of the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission.

Only growers with 20,000 square feet or more were eligible to vote. About 51 percent of the 356 known eligible greenhouse participated, and those who voted for Flowers Canada represented 90.7 percent of the square footage of those casting ballots.