Available Reports 2004 Annual Report 2003 Annual Report 2002 Annual Report 2001 Annual Report 2000 Annual Report 1999 Annual Report 1998 Annual Report 1997 Annual Report

Annual Report 2001

ASPARAGUS RESEARCH

All of the research is centered at the University of Guelph. The Ontario Asparagus Growers' Marketing Board has been working extensively on a project with the University of Guelph of which the main focus has been on the identification of vigorous varieties. Plants are being produced through tissue culture at the University of Guelph, and then planted at the Simcoe Research Station.

The main emphasis has been on the development of superior varieties. Guelph Millennium and Guelph Tiessen are the two varieties which were idenified in 1996. Through field trials, these varieties have proven to be much better than the imported seed that is available.

The following is a report submitted by Randy Baker, who has been working extensively on maintaining the seed plot on behalf of the Board:

ASPARAGUS SEED PRODUCTION 2001

Weak sales of asparagus seed prior to the 2001 growing season forced the Board to put the seed plot into a maintenance mode. Two rows were removed to make room for another male row on the west half of the seed plot, to enhance pollination. Herbicides were applied as recommended in Publication 363, with mediocre results, as rainfall needed to activate the chemical occurred about 4 1/2 weeks after the application. Insecticides and fungicides were applied as needed. Results of these sprays were godd. In mid-September, fern was carefully removed from the seed plot and shredded into a dumpster and trucked away. Secondary clean-up occurred at this time and many small branches with seed pods were picked up. Roundup was applied to eradicate small volunteer plants from previous year seed drop and persistent weeds. The strings on the netting have all been replaced or supplemented as solar degradation is prevalent. Mouse bait has been deployed around the seed plot perimeter to minimize damage to the screen.

My sincere thanks to Ed DeHooghe for providing the capable crew for cleaning up the fern in September. Our thanks go out to Peter White, Agriculture and AgriFood Canada at Delhi, for providing a forage harvester and tractor to shred the fern.

In my opinion, the seed plot is ready to produce adequate quantities of seed in 2002.

The following is a report submitted by David Wolyn and Paul Banks on the University of Guelph Asparagus Breeding Program:

Guelph Millennium - Long Term Yield Data, Cambridge

Guelph Millennium yeild continued to increase in 2001 to 8690 kg/ha while yield of Jersey Giant continued to decline.

Millennium as % of Jersey Giant

Millennium outperforms Jersy Giant, by varying degrees, in all test locations.

P18, P19 Yield Trials

New Hybrids were evaluated for the firest, 2-week harvest in 2001 at the Cambridge Research Station.

Hybrids with improved yields and/or rust resistance, compared to Guelph Millennium, were observed. Note: although encouraging, these are firest-year data.

ASPARAGUS SEED SALES

In 2001, the Ontario Asparagus Growers' Marketing Board again acted as distributor of the Jersey asparagus seed varieties. The Jersey varieties are a male hybrid line imported from the U.S.A. In 2001, 84 pounds was sold compared to 107 pounds in 2000.

The Board once again had a commercial amount of Guelph all-male hybrid asparagus seed available for sale. In 2001, 93 pounds of Guelph Millennium seed were sold, 67 pounds into Ontario and 26 pounds out of province. We had zero sales of the Guelph Tiessen variety. The prices of the Guelph seed will remain the same, which are comparable prices to the U.S. varieties. The Guelph Millennium asparagus seed will be sold for $500 per pound; and the Guelph Tiessen variety for $400.00 per pound.

ASPARAGUS SEED SALES - (Pounds)

1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
11	47	120	144	359	226.5	381	217	421	621	177

As can be seen by the charts above and below, the volume of asparagus seed sold has decreased in 2001. The decreased sales in 2001 was expected as large quantities were purchased in 1999 and 2000. Growers are waiting for in-field results of yields, etc. from the Guelph varities prior to planting more. According to trials the Guelph Millemmium and Guelph Tiessen are the recommended varieties as these are all-male hybrids which show very promising results and promise to double and triple the yields of the Jersey Giant variety.

2001 BREAKDOWN OF SALES BY VARIETY
	---------- Pounds ----------
	Jersey	Guelph
Destination	Varieties	Varieties	Total
Board Members	31	35	66.00
Root Producers	53	32	85
Out of Province	0	26	26
Total	84	93	177

BREAKDOWN OF SALES BY YEAR
Destination	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
	- - - - - - - - pounds - - - - - - - -
Board Members	195.50	61.50	129.75	81.78	69.00	93.00	66.00
Root Producers	158.00	160.00	223.75	96.25	47.00	234.00		85.00
Out of Province	5.50	5.00	27.50	39.00	305.00	294.00	26.00
Total	359.00	226.50	381.00	217.00	421.00	621.00	177.00

Value 2000 - $290,221   Value 2001 - $99,944

Asparagus seed sales have dropped dramatically. Interest to plant asparagus in Ontario is very low. Michigan growers, who in the past two years have purchased large quantities of the Guelph Millennium variety, did not purchase any in 2001. Root producers purchased limited quantities of seed as well. The drop in sales to Ontario growers is a reflection of the lack of confidence in the asparagus returns, despite the marked yield improvements which can be obtained by the recommended varieties.

PROMOTION

With the approval of our "Healthy Futures" proposal, we literally had to hit the ground running even though the asparagus season was on our doorstep. I was selected by the Board to take the lead on promotion as the chairman, Ed DeHooghe, was up to his eyeballs on all the issues a Board and new chairman faces. The Foodland Ontario folks as expected were ready, able, and more than willing to assist us in any way possible. The "Mediterranean Tart Pie" was fabulous. To have it at the media events was a testament to it's appeal. (I made and froze 16 of them, believe it or not). We were also assisted by Rob Fraschetti, the executive chef of "On the Twenty" in Vineland, a world class establishment. Promoting asparagus on its' own merits with other foods, sauces, or with the outstanding Ontario wines was in my (and the Board's) estimation a stroke of genius. Whether doing "Morning Zoo" radio shows, TV spots, wine tasting, or other media events, this crop is starting to sizzle. I don't know about the rest of the growers, but at our roadside market, the feedback could be measured. Diehard asparagus haters were starting to come around to the new innovative ways we as an industry are strarting to present our crop. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Foodland Ontario, for their great effort, Rob Fraschetti, and all the other folks and growers that made our promotion as successful as it was. Submitted by Jeff Wilson.

2001 Marketing Report from Foodland Ontario

Television Production: 15 second TV commercial produced by Foodland: $2,500.00

Television Media: May 28 - June 10 inclusive: $8,328.00 - London (including Windsor & Wingham), Barrie (with some Toronto) and Ottawa.

Radio Production: Exisiting 30 second commercial produced by Foodland from 2000, no charge this year.

Radio Media: May 28 - June 4: $31,278.24 - London, Kitchener, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, Niagara Region and Toronto.

Foodland Ontario Radio Tags (60) for Ontario Asparagus: May 21-27 - Live read "This traffic report is brought to you by Foodland Ontario, reminding you that fresh Ontario Asparagus is in stores and farmers' markets now!" - no charge.

Foodland Ontario Calendar "Ontario Fresh 2002": Month of May Sponsorship: $5,000.00. This calendar was distributed by Foodland Ontario Merchandising Representatives (300,000) copies across all Ontario Retail Banners, and made available at no charge to consumers directly in the produce department.

ACREAGE MEASUREMENT PROGRAM

The acreage measurement program continues to maintain an acreage inventory for the purpose of assessing annual licence fees. Asparagus acreage measurements were completed by Paul Van den Borre using a Global Positioning System. By having the measurements completed using this sytem rather than manually, provides growers with an accurate acreage amount and also provides clearer maps of their asparagus plantings. Any acreage which had not been measured and mapped using GPS were completed this year. This is why the acres measured in 2001 were over 1000 acres. Last year, the total cost of the acreage measurement probram was substantially higher, which was due to the fact that almost all of the district 4 asparagus growers needed a measurement completed.

The chart gives a cost comparison on an annual basis of the acreage measurement program:

SUMMARY OF ACREAGE MEASUREMENT PROGRAM
	1998	1999	2000	2001
Total Producers Measured	42	44	60	44
Total Acres Measured	1,360	860	1,398	1,069
Average Acres Meas./Grower	32.4	19.6	23.3	24.3
Total Cost of Measurer	$4,079	$2,580	$5,643	$3,208
Average Cost/Measurement	$97	$59	$94	$73
Average Cost/Acre	$3.00	$3.00	$4.04	$3.00

ACRES PLOUGHED OUT
2001	123
2000	141
1999	220
1998	314
1997	176
1996	35
1995	206

The amount of acres ploughed out have returned to a normal level. The 123 acres removed by growers this year consisted primarily of die outs in the field, and older, inefficient patches. In today's economic climate, growers are rationalizing and as such must turn low yielding patches into more productive use. In 2001, 150 acres of the high yielding varieties were planted. Approximately the same amound should be planted next year according to the amount of seed purchased this year.

The following chart shows the grower population by size of planting. This year we have 106 growers, which is only 1 less than last year. The percentage ratios in each acreage category has remained almost identical for the past three years. Even the average acreage per grower of 21 acres has remained constant.

2001 PRODUCER GROUPINGS BY SIZE OF TOTAL ACREAGE
Size of Acreage	# of Producers	%
2 to 5 acres	23	22%
5 to 10 acres	24	23%
10 to 20 acres	20	19%
20 to 50 acres	28	26%
50 to 100 acres	9	8%
100 acres +	2	2%
Total	106	100%

ACREAGE REPORT BY DISTRICT - - - 2001- - - AGE - ACREAGE REPORT BY DISTRICT
	Dist.	Dist.	Dist.	Dist.	Dist.
Description	No. 1	No. 2	No. 3	No. 4	No. 5	Total
No. of Producers	20	48	13	9	16	106
Percent of Total	19%	45%	12%	9%	15%	100%
Acres Planted 2001	26	97	8	0	19	150
Acres Planted 2000	14	141	17	1	17	190
Acres Planted 1999	65	51	17	4	13	158
Acres Planted 1998	82	111	13	0	21	239
Acres Planted 1997	34	181	7	0	33	232
Acres Planted 1996	51	121	24	16	10	218
Acres Planted 1995	14	61	4	27	6	123
Acres Planted 1994	6	74	15	3	11	109
Acres Planted 1993	0	46	8	0	0	54
Acres Planted 1992	0	1	5	0	0	6
Acres Planted 1991	4	12	0	0	0	16
Acres > 10 Years	140	440	97	43	92	812
Non Bearing Acres	40	238	25	1	36	340
Bearing Acreage	392	1,086	190	93	190	1,951
Total Acreage	431	1,325	215	94	226	2,291
Percent of Total	19%	58%	9%	4%	10%	100%
Avg. Age - Years	7.0	7.4	8.6	10.6	7.7	7.5
Avg. Acres/Grower	21.6	27.6	16.5	9.6	14.1	21.4

Avg. Acres/Grower - 2000   21.6     Avg. Age/Acre - 2000   8.6

Avg. Acres/Grower - 1999   20.6     Avg. Age/Acre - 1999   8.6

Avg. Acres/Grower - 1998   20.0     Avg. Age/Acre - 1998   9.9

Avg. Acres/Grower - 1997   21.6     Avg. Age/Acre - 1997   9.7

The "Acreage Report by District" chart shows the state of our asparagus plantings as at September 30, 2001. The bearing acreage has increased by 31 acres from 2000 and 150 acres were planted in 2001. The total acreage has increased by approximately 32 acres in 2001.

District 1's total acreage has decreased by 12 acres from 2000; District 2 has increased by 52 acres; District 3 has decreased by 16 acres; District 4 has decreased by 12 acres; and District 5 has decreased by 4 acres.

2000 ACREAGE REPORT BY DISTRICT FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS
	Dist.	Dist.	Dist.	Dist.	Dist.	Total
Year	No. 1	No. 2	No. 3	No. 5	No. 4	Acreage
1992	438	1,170	284	126	505	2,523
1993	423	1,084	269	126	412	2,314
1994	398	1,112	278	92	323	2,203
1995	391	1,121	209	92	330	2,143
1996	452	1,255	216	85	344	2,352
1997	424	1,352	230	90	346	2,442
1998	403	1,264	222	83	290	2,262
1999	452	1,212	213	74	235	2,186
2000	419	1,273	231	106	230	2,259
2001	431	1,325	215	94	226	2,291

From the years 1993 to 1995, the acreage had declined an average of 110 acres per year. In 1996 and 1997, the increased level of new plantings and seed sales has generated an increase in acreage. From 1998 to 1999 the acreage had declined by 76 acres which were old, low yielding patches. In 2000, the acreage increased by 73 acres from 1999. This year, the acreage remained almost the same as last year, only increasing by 32 acres.

CROP PRODUCTION

A crop production survey had been mailed out to growers and the response was so poor (20%) that we were unable to complete our sales/production chart this year. This task is extremely difficult because a lot of growers are reluctant to divulge any information. All information is strictly confidential and is only used for the annual report. Once the report is complete, the grower survey information is destroyed. It is extremely important to have production information included in the report not onny for the Board, but for growers as well. When there is a bad production year for growers, the Board would have proof of this by providing the report to the government should financial assistance be required. It would be greatly appreciated and beneficial to obtain productions information from growers in order to complete accurate data reports. We hope that in the future growers will be more cooperative.

SUMMARY OF CROP AND MARKET STATISTICS FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS
Description Used by Ontario Processors	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
No.1 Grade - 5-1/2 inch ('000 lbs)	99	12	57	33	162
No.1 Grade - 7 inch ('000 lbs)	377	420	395	481	32
No.2 Grade - 7 inch ('000 lbs)	11	8	12	15	0
Total Processed ('000 lbs)	487	440	464	529	194
Total Ontario Crop ('000 lbs)	2,621	3,348	3,688	4,319	n/a
Ontario Bearing Acreage	1,989	1,887	1,831	1,920	1,952
Total Farm Value ('000 $)	4,134	4,476	5,301	5,907	n/a
Average Return $/lb.	1.58	1.34	1.44	1.37	n/a
Yield (lbs./acre)	1,317	1,774	2,014	2,250	n/a
Percent of Crop Processed	18.6	13.1	12.6	12.2	n/a
Number of Processing Growers	51	44	40	44	34
Minimum Prices (dollars/lb.) - Processing
No.1 Grade - 5-1/2 inch	1.83	1.83	1.83	1.83	1.76
No.1 Grade - 7 inch	1.34	1.34	1.34	1.34	1.29
No.2 Grade - 7 inch	0.70	0.70	0.70	0.70	0.65

Note: Because of poor grower survey response, quite a few numbers are not available in the above chart.

2001 (2000) PROCESSING DELIVERIES NO. 1 GRADE SEVEN INCH EQUIVALENTS
	'000 Pounds Contracted	'000 Pounds Delivered	% of Contracts Delivered	% of Total Deliveries	Number of Growers Delivering
District #1	149 (248)	145 (285)	97% (115%)	57% ( 54%)	12 (13)
District #2 & 5	108 (240)	103 (219)	95% ( 91%)	41% ( 42%)	21 (28)
District #3	8 ( 30)	5 ( 23)	63% ( 78%)	2% ( 4%)	2 ( 1)
District #4	0 ( 0)	0 ( 0)	0% ( 0%)	0% ( 0%)	0 ( 0)
Total	265 (518)	253 (527)	95% (102%)	100% (100%)	34 (44)

The above chart shows the amount of No. 1 grade 7 inch asparagus each district contracted and delivered. The No. 1 grade 5-1/2 inch asparagus deliveries were multiplied by 136% in order to reach the No. 1 grade 7 inch equivalent amount.

The processing prices decreased from $1.83/lb. to $1.76/lb for No. 1 grade 5-1/2 inch; from $1.34/lb. to $1.29/lb for No. 1 grade 7 inch; and from $0.70/lb. to $0.65/lb for No. 2 grade 7 inch. Growers delivered 95% of their contracts, and 96% of our processor commitments were fulfilled. Last year growers delivered 102% of their contracts and processors received 114% of their contracts.

Considering all the changes for this year, things didn't go too badly. As you know the year started with a bang. It was difficult to know when to schedule the first load for Quebec, but even though some directors wanted to wait until May 12th to 15th, we booked the first load for May 7th, and were fortunate we did. With the strong flush and drop in the fresh price, we had a full load, as we did on May 14th and May 21st. But then things went badly. The combination of cold weather and high fresh prices made it impossible to fill the fourth and fifth loads. The Quebec processor was convinced to purchase a sixth load based on commitments from growers. Instead of 39,000 lbs that were supposed to be on the last load, they received only 13,890 lbs. Thamesville station supplied approximately 43% of their commitment and Langton station supplied approximately 24% of their committment. It was discouraging to see grower's product on the Food Terminal, while they said they had nothing for processing. With only one processor left in Canada, we all need to do everthing we can to keep this processor of our industry in tact. We did ship a total of 186,540 lbs of 5-1/2 inch proceeing asparagus to Quebec, which would convert to approximately 18,000 cases of 9 inch fresh market asparaus. With the fragile fresh makret, 18,000 cases would have had a substantial impact on the fresh price. Submitted by John Jaques.

FINANCIAL REPORT

	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
Total Revenue	$81,104	$124,156	$129,192	$194,594	$294,043	$130,057
Total Expenses	$109,722	$111,999	$115,114	$130,400	$137,003	$173,758
Net Profit (Loss)	$(28,618)	$12,157	$14,078	$64,194	$157,040	($43,701)

The above financial review represents the Board's General Account and does not include the assets, liabilities, and operations of the area committees.

Revenues have decreased in 2001 basically due to the decrease in sales of the Guelph asparagus seed. The Guelph seed revenue decreased by aproximately $144,000 or 84% from last year and directors per diems increased by approximately $30,000 or 53%. In analysing the other accounts of the Board, almost all expenditures and revenues were on budget. Because of the major decrease in seed sales, the Board suffered a loss of approximately $46,000 this year.

The following is a summary of the Board's operating costs in respect to office staff and directors expenses from the years 1987 to 2001, which have been taken from the Board's audited statement of revenues and expenditures annually.

Year	Office Staff & Sales Manager	Office Travel	Directors P.D. & Exp.	Honourariums	Total
1987	$69,461	$7,675	$39,184	$1,400	$117,720
1988	$63,992	$7,206	$38,019	$1,400	$110,617
1989*	$95,614	$8,111	$28,386	$1,475	$133,586
1990*	$73,583	$6,559	$24,340	$1,250	$105,732
1991	$46,553	$0	$18,667	$1,250	$66,470
1992	$32,839	$1,179	$29,198	$1,250	$64,466
1993	$37,745	$715	$32,952	$1,250	$72,662
1994	$35,342	$378	$37,157	$1,250	$74,127
1995	$37,458	$715	$47,502	$1,250	$86,925
1996*	$41,081	$124	$65,538	$0	$106,743
1997*	$39,845	$411	$59,540	$0	$99,796
1998*	$35,622	$610	$70,048	$0	$106,280
1999*	$33,043	$301	$63,899	$0	$97,243
2000*	$29,206	$2,201	$64,296	$0	$95,722
2001*	$30,384	$228	$90,061	$0	$120,673

NOTE:

• 1989 & 1990 - The Board handled the marketing of fresh asparagus.
• 1996 to Present - The Guelph seed block was developed in 1996, which increased the directors per diem and expenses for these years.

SUMMARY

It is difficult to predict the future of the asparagus industry. The general ecomonical problems continue to persist. The Board will continue To extensively promote "Ontario" asparagus in order to increase sales. In September 2001 the Board hired an agronomist, Alfons Thuss, who will be working on different projects in oder to provide information to benefit growers and the asparagus industry.

A number of people deserve a great deal of thanks including our directors, researchers, government, member bodies, and especially the growers from their continued support, confidence and cooperation in the Board. Jo-Anne Jenner, administrative assistant of the Board, should be thanked and be commended for doing an excellent job while Jackie was away.

Finally, a very special thanks to John Jaques, who after 12 years as chairman of the Board has retired from this position. John has given of himself unselfishly to the betterment of the industry. His councel, patience, and leadership could not have come at a better time and no greater service could he have given to bring the Board out of its financial distress. To John and Claudia, our sincere appreciation for your dedication and tireless efforts.

The Board would like to wish all of our asparagus producers the best for the year 2002.

December 1, 2001