7 practical takeaways from Canada’s greenhouse sector

That was how Guido van het Hof described tomato brown rugose fruit virus during a recent Protected Cropping Australia webinar hosted in partnership with Achmea Farm Insurance and Hagelunie, a global horticulture insurer within the Achmea group.

The session featured Guido van het Hof, President of Great Northern Hydroponics in Ontario, Canada. Drawing on experience across Canada and the Netherlands, Guido shared first-hand lessons on virus management, trade pressure, labour, logistics, data, automation and the specialist skills needed to run increasingly complex greenhouse businesses.

While Canada and Australia are on opposite sides of the world, many of the pressures and opportunities facing greenhouse growers are familiar: biosecurity, rising costs, labour, market uncertainty and fast-moving technology.

Guido's experience offers useful reference points for growers and industry partners thinking about what comes next.

1. Biosecurity is a business risk

Guido described tomato brown rugose fruit virus, or ToBRFV, as one of the most significant disruptions he has seen in greenhouse production.

His own business experienced a serious outbreak across a 28-hectare facility. The response involved a full decontamination effort, including removing liners, ground cover and pipe rail supports, disinfecting vehicles and even digging out gravel near waste areas.

Guido estimated the clean-up cost was close to $3 million, before accounting for the production gap caused by replanting into an empty greenhouse.

He also shared that some large growers in Canada who had previously been financially strong were moved into special credit arrangements after two or three ToBRFV-affected crops.

Biosecurity can affect cash flow, debt position, supply commitments and long-term business resilience.

2. Prevention starts before plants arrive on farm

One of Guido's strongest messages was that virus management begins well before symptoms appear.

"What we learned from the 2020 virus year is that prevention is the best tool to start with. So, you start clean, you make sure your startup material is clean."

Following the outbreak, Great Northern Hydroponics strengthened its prevention protocols. Seeds were sent to a laboratory to verify they were disease-free. Propagators were also asked to test plants at several stages, including before grafting, two weeks after grafting and before delivery.

Guido explained that each section of the propagator's greenhouse was sampled systematically, using what he described as a "Z pattern", and sent for laboratory confirmation before plants were accepted.

It is a useful reminder that prevention is a whole-chain discipline. Seed, propagation, delivery, staff movement, equipment and hygiene protocols all form part of the risk picture.

3. Speed of testing can change the outcome

Guido warned that waiting for visible symptoms or delayed laboratory results can leave growers with little time to act.

"Don't wait until your crop becomes or plants become symptomatic."

During the 2020 outbreak, external diagnostic testing could take two to three weeks or longer because laboratories were overwhelmed. Guido warned that by the time results came back, the virus may already have spread.

In response, Great Northern Hydroponics established an in-house qPCR laboratory. Guido estimated the set-up cost at around $35,000 to $40,000. The cost per sample fell from about $80 through an external laboratory to around $6 in-house.

The biggest gain was speed.

"Any sample that we took in the morning, before the end of the day, we had the results."

The point is not that every business needs its own lab. Testing speed matters. The faster a business can identify a problem, the better chance it has of containing it before it spreads.

4. Trade uncertainty can put growth plans on hold

Canada's greenhouse sector has grown through an integrated North American supply chain, with a large share of production sold into the United States. Guido explained that US retailers value Canadian greenhouse produce for its reliability, food safety standards and year-round supply.

He also described the uncertainty created by changing trade settings.

"We really don't know which direction that ball is going to roll."

He said this uncertainty had contributed to a stagnation in acreage, with growers interested in expanding but uncomfortable committing major capital until there is more clarity around trade negotiations.

This is a practical commercial insight. Expansion decisions are shaped by more than farm performance. Market access, policy settings, transport paths and buyer confidence can all influence whether a growth plan is bankable.

5. Reliability and speed to market are part of the value proposition

Guido also explained why Ontario has become such a significant greenhouse region. One key factor is proximity to major markets.

He said Ontario growers can reach New York City within eight hours and southern Florida within a day's drive, giving them the ability to respond quickly when supply needs change.

That matters because protected cropping depends on more than producing high-quality fruit and vegetables. Consistent supply, fast recovery and customer confidence all matter.

The lesson is to treat logistics as part of the commercial offer. Speed, reliability and continuity of supply can influence buyer confidence just as much as product quality.

6. Technology is powerful, but it needs a clear job to do

Guido was positive about the role of data, automation and artificial intelligence, but his examples were grounded and practical.

At Great Northern Hydroponics, data-driven growing was introduced in 2020 through the business's climate control provider.

"It yielded us more production, and it saved us some energy."

He also discussed computer vision, crop scouting, robotic harvesters, autonomous carts, UVC treatment systems, predictive maintenance and the use of enterprise systems to manage growing operational complexity.

Guido also offered a word of caution when investing in technology. He described investing in a crop-scanning system designed to monitor plant health, count fruit, identify colour intensity, predict yield and check crop-work quality. In hindsight, he said the system may have tried to do too much at once.

"If you try to do everything at once, you may bite off more than you can chew."

The right question is not whether a tool is innovative. It is what specific problem it solves, how reliable it is, and whether it can be integrated into daily operations.

7. The future will need people, data and specialist skills

Guido's final message was that the future of protected cropping will require the right mix of technology and human expertise.

"Future advantages come from combining people, data, and automation."

He also raised a concern that is relevant well beyond Canada: whether there are enough trained people coming through to manage large, complex greenhouse operations.

Guido challenged broad agricultural education models that try to cover too many sectors at once, saying they risk producing "jack of all trades, but masters of none". In his view, the industry needs more specialised pathways for greenhouse vegetable production.

He also pointed to the role of technology in helping businesses oversee larger acreages with fewer people.

Workforce planning and technology planning need to be considered together. Automation may reduce some labour pressure, but specialist people will still be needed to interpret data, make decisions and run complex systems well.

What this means for the Australian glasshouse sector

The Canadian experience shows how quickly greenhouse businesses can be affected by risks that sit across production, labour, technology, logistics and trade. It also shows the value of learning from growers who have managed these issues first-hand.

The discussion offered practical prompts to help growers test their own systems, ask sharper questions and prepare for a more data-driven, risk-aware and commercially complex future.

Through its partnership with Protected Cropping Australia and Hagelunie, the global horticulture insurer within the Achmea group, Achmea Farm Insurance is helping bring international greenhouse experience into local industry discussion. The aim is simple: to support practical knowledge-sharing across the protected cropping sector, help growers consider the risks and opportunities shaping their businesses, and keep growers growing.

Watch the webinar recording: Trade dynamics, virus management, and the rise of AI integration in protected crops: A Canadian perspective.