Grower News

B.C. flower grower Dave Captein has been elected president of the Canadian Ornamental Horticulture Alliance (COHA). Announced last Thursday, Captein’s term will run for two years. He previously served as a Director on the COHA-ACHO Board since 2014 and as Vice-Chair since 2017. Captein and his family operate Blue Magic Greenhouses Ltd. in Pitt Meadows, B.C. This floriculture operation grows hydrangea, lilies, Ilex, Viburnum and Hellebore as cut flowers for the Pacific Northwest. Captein, together with his wife Stephanie, are second generation owner-operators of the business. “There is an urgent need to inform policy makers in government about the importance of our sector to Canada’s economy and the contribution it stands to make to the environment,” says Captein. “At a time where there is growing concern about the implications of climate change, the products of our sector can contribute to natural solutions while fostering growth to our economy. We will work with our members to ramp up our messaging to increase understanding as to why our sector matters to all Canadians.” Captein thanked outgoing President Christian Brunet for his leadership of COHA-ACHO. During Brunet’s term as President, COHA-ACHO received its largest allocation to date of cluster-related research funding from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Ornamental horticulture accounted for $2.3 billion in gross receipts at farm-gate in 2018, making it one of the largest sectors of horticulture in Canada.

Source: www.greenhousecanada.com