Register now for a greenhouse bus tour to Ontario in October

Attendees will visit wholesale greenhouses and a garden center, and see innovative automation on the action-packed tour to the Niagara region of Canada. Registration has been extended to October 16!

Terra Garden Centre and Lifestyle Retailer.
Terra Garden Centre and Lifestyle Retailer.

Registration and itinerary update: As of Sept. 23, 2015, the deadline to register for the Ontario bus tour has been extended to Oct. 16, 2015. The price for the tour remains at $379 per registrant with a single room and $289 for registrants sharing a hotel room with another participant until Sept. 30. After Sept. 30, the price will increase $60 per registrant. Ontario growers will be excited that the tour now has an additional pick-up/drop-off location at the Woodstock Service Centre on the 401. Please see the updated itinerary below.

Michigan State University Extension will be offering an Ontario Bus Tour of Floriculture Greenhouse Insect Biocontrol Programs from Michigan to the Niagara region of Ontario, Canada on Oct. 28-30, 2015. On this three-day tour, participants will see how to set up a comprehensive insect biocontrol program that really works. In Ontario, 75 percent of greenhouse growers implement insect biological control in their facilities because of the decreased insecticide exposure to employees, decreased number of available registered insecticides and increased resistance in insect pest populations causing crop losses. On this tour, we will visit four wholesale greenhouses, one retail garden center and the Vineland Research and Innovative Centre. While one of the focuses of our tour will be implementing an insect biological control program, others topics will include greenhouse automation to save on labor expenses, retail marketing, various greenhouse structures and other production practices.

The bus will originate from Masterpiece Flower Company in Byron Center, Michigan, and will also stop at the Swartz Creek carpool lot in eastern Michigan to pick up any other participants. Participants will have the option of either being dropped off or leaving a vehicle at either location.

Itinerary

Oct. 28, 2015

  • 7 a.m.: Bus departs Masterpiece Flower Company, Byron Center, Michigan
  • 8:20 a.m.: Pick up participants from Swartz Creek carpool lot
  • 12:30 p.m.: Pick up participants at the Woodstock Service Centre, Ontario
  • 3 p.m.: Terra Garden Centre and Lifestyle Retailer
  • 5 p.m.: Arrive at Hilton Fallsview Hotel, Niagara Falls

Oct. 29, 2015

  • 8 a.m.: Depart Hilton Hotel
  • 9 a.m.: Jeffery's Greenhouse
  • 10:15 a.m.: Vineland Research Station
  • 11:15 a.m.: Catered Lunch
  • 12:40 p.m.: Orchard Park Growers
  • 2:20 p.m.: Waldan Gardens
  • 4:30 p.m.: Arrive back to Hiton Hotel

Oct. 30, 2015

  • 7:30 a.m.: Bus Departs Hilton Hotel
  • 8:30 a.m.: Harster Greenhouses
  • 10:45 a.m.: Arrive back at the Woodstock Service Centre, Ontario
  • 3:10 p.m.: Arrive back at Swartz Creek carpool lot
  • 4:30 p.m.: Arrive back to Masterpiece Flower Company, Byron Center, Michigan

The cost of the event is $379 per registrant with a single room and $289 for registrants sharing a hotel room with another participant until Sept. 30. After Sept. 30, the price for the tour increases $60 per participant. Each person will need to register separately and indicate their preferred roommate. The registration fee includes two nights lodging at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Niagara Falls with free Wi-Fi, transportation, two breakfasts, one catered lunch and refreshments on the bus. Participants will be responsible for paying for two lunches and two dinners themselves and a passport card or booklet if the participant does not already have one. In order to participate, you will be required to have a passport book or passport card.

The tour promises to be an exciting place to gather new ideas for business owners and is an excellent networking event for all participants. Each evening, participants will be free to network with other participants and explore everything that downtown Niagara Falls has to offer! The last day to register is Friday, Oct. 16. Come join us and see some very innovative greenhouse businesses!

For more information, download the event itinerary. Interested participants can register online.

Harster Greenhouses

Harster Greenhouses.

Jeffrey's Greenhouses

Jeffery’s Greenhouses.

Waldan Gardens

Waldan Gardens.

Orchard Park Growers

Orchard Park Growers.

Automation at Vineland Research Station

Automation at the Vineland Research and Innovative Centre.

Niagra Falls

Niagara Falls, Canada.

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