Chris McQueen is the newest member of the senior management team at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (Vineland). As the new Vice President, Operations, McQueen is responsible for operations, safety, human resources and facilities, including Vineland’s greenhouses and research farms.

Hussam Haroun has joined Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (Vineland) as Director of Automation. In his new role, Haroun will oversee Vineland’s activities related to automation, artificial intelligence and digital agriculture technologies.

New findings from an ongoing study at Vineland show that propagation trays play a vital role in tree health. A recent dig of two-year-old trees found that the RootSmart propagation system, included in the study, consistently produced healthier root systems, including fewer total root defects and better root distribution.

Vineland has partnered with Eminent Seeds to produce and distribute the seeds for the first three varieties of greenhouse-grown tomatoes-on-the-vine (TOVs) developed by the research and innovation centre with input from consumers and growers alike.

Thanks to a seed grant from Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), an interdisciplinary team of researchers at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (Vineland) has discovered a new approach to control and eradicate invasive plants and weeds. Vineland’s innovative solution utilizes the unique natural chemistry of invasive plants as a source of new sustainable control tool.

Today, Vance Badawey, Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre, along with Chris Bittle, Member of Parliament for St. Catharines, announced a total FedDev Ontario contribution of nearly $13 million for three Niagara projects that will support economic growth, create good jobs and continue to drive innovation across the region. This announcement was made on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for FedDev Ontario.

Vance Badeway, Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre, and Chris Bittle, Member of Parliament for St. Catharines, on behalf of the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced an investment of up to $476,908 for the Ontario Tender Fruit Growers and Fresh Grape Growers to improve fruit quality and availability of tender fruit and fresh grape varieties for consumers.

Today, the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Natural Resources, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, announced an investment of up to $49.5 million in the Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN), a network bringing together the private sector, academia and research institutions to accelerate automation and digitization in Canada’s agricultural sector. Spearheaded by Alberta Innovates and the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, together with Alberta’s Olds College and Lakeland College, CAAIN is expected to begin with eight partners from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec.

Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (Vineland) announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Dr. Ian Potter as Chief Executive Officer effective April 1, 2019. Mr. Potter will also join the Vineland Board of Directors at that time.