Marketing commission revokes tomato processor's licence Tuesday, June 5, 2012 by SUSAN MANNThe Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission has revoked the vegetable processing licence of Jema International Food Products Inc. after the company failed to pay several tomato growers for last year’s crop.The commission held a hearing in March in Guelph and ordered Jema, which is affiliated with DaVinci Foods of Montreal, to pay the growers $363,977.81 plus reasonable interest by May 15. The bulk of the money is owed to four Leamington-area growers.By May 23, the growers still hadn’t received their money so the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers requested the company’s licence to process vegetables be revoked. The company also failed to provide the first of two $250,000 letters of credit for this year’s operations, the commission’s latest decision notes. The first letter was due by May 18 and the second by Aug. 1. The decision, dated May 30, is posted on the commission’s website.The commission gave Jema until May 29 at 4 p.m. to make submissions before it decided to revoke the company’s licence.Al Krueger, executive assistant to the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers, says the growers are pursuing payment through the courts. Jema also failed to remit grower licence fees to the Processing Vegetable Growers. That money totals a few thousand dollars, he notes. “It’s not anywhere near what the growers are out. It’s the growers who are suffering in this one.”The company’s licence being revoked means it can no longer buy vegetables from growers. Jema processed tomatoes.“We thought that it was important to them that they have a licence to process and they would, in fact, process this year,” he explains. “They seemed to indicate that they wanted to be in operation this year.”Krueger explains ordinarily tomato processors contract their tomatoes in advance, with the company supplying the plants to the growers and measuring the acreage. Without a licence, “none of that is happening this year,” in connection with Jema, he says.Krueger says the affected farmers also grow for other processors and will continue growing for those other companies. BF Army worms advance New electronic equipment needs better protection
Grain Bin Emergencies Turn Deadly in Seconds, but Training Can Save Lives Thursday, May 7, 2026 Would you know what to do if someone you loved was trapped in a grain bin? The reality is sobering. Compared to a flowing mass of grain, a person is only several bushels in volume. When grain begins moving, escape becomes nearly impossible. In most cases of full grain engulfment,... Read this article online
Applications open for GFO 2026 Legacy Scholarship Thursday, May 7, 2026 Applications are now open for the 2026 Grain Farmers of Ontario , an annual program designed to support students pursuing post‑secondary education that contributes to the future of the province’s grain and agri‑food industries. Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) represents 28,000... Read this article online
Farmland Rents Lag Land Values Thursday, May 7, 2026 Farm Credit Canada (FCC) has released a new economic analysis highlighting a growing gap between farmland values and rental rates across the country, a trend that will likely reshape expansion decisions for Canadian producers. According to the analysis, Canada’s average farmland... Read this article online
How to Keep Your Groundwater Safe and Clean Wednesday, May 6, 2026 Groundwater plays a vital role for families and businesses in rural and agricultural settings. It supports essential activities such as livestock care, irrigation, and cleaning processes, and in many areas, it's the sole source of drinking water. For this reason, it's critical for rural... Read this article online
Rising Waters on the Canadian Prairies and Beyond Wednesday, May 6, 2026 Spring flooding is intensifying across large portions of Canada, placing farms under growing pressure during one of the most important windows of the agricultural year. From the Prairies to Central Canada and into Atlantic regions, saturated soils, elevated rivers, and damaged rural... Read this article online