Haskap Canada: Meet Dave Negrych

Meet Dave Negrych. He lives a half hour north of Roblin, Manitoba.

Dave has a plantation of EBH cultivars from the U of S, which means he is a part of a university-sponsored cooperative project that is evaluating a wide selection of plants, some of which may have beneficial characteristics as haskap-hopefuls in the future. Of course he gets to taste the fruit from these plants in addition to various varieties of honeyberries and haskap that he also has planted in his garden over the years.

Dave has spoken at field days in the area on behalf of Haskap Canada and is always open to answering inquiries about haskap.

He currently serves on Haskap Canada's board of directors.

Haskap And Breast Cancer Research

Toppling Goliath Brews has enjoyed a great deal of success recently. Last week their Golden Nugget was voted by a jury to be the best Iowa IPA. Simultaneously their Naughty 90 Oaked IPA was voted as the people’s choice for IPA in the house. And yes, I have tasted them, and yes, they are that good!

A week ago I delivered some frozen Borealis to them in person. The berry itself put smiles on everyone’s face who tasted it, and generated discussion about its compatibility and potential as an ingredient. But the details of that are for these master-brewers to later decide.

For now the little berry may provide the answer that they have been looking for as a way to colour their beer in support of breast cancer research. A single haskap berry macerated in a pint of their pale/light draft not only produces a clean, brilliant rose coloured hue in the beer itself, but it also turns the foam pink without altering the taste.

Thanks TG Brews for supporting breast cancer research and helping us find yet another very worthy use for this berry!

(If you drink, then please drink responsibly.)

Three U of SK EBH Varieties Named

It was announced at the 2011 AGM last Saturday that three of their edible blue honeysuckle numbered varieties that are currently commercially available have been christened. They will now be known as:

9 - 15 - Indigo Gem
9 - 91 - Indigo Treat
9 - 92 - Indigo Yum

An Invitation To Be A Follower...

In order to lead you have to first be willing to be a FOLLOWer!

It's true, we have all been tyranized by leadership which has no idea of what it means to follow. Here at Haskap Canada we are inviting you to sign up to be Followers of this blog! By Following you will be sure to be in the know about Haskap Canada's best practices and best practices in the haskap industry here in Canada. Being in the know as a Follower will make you a better leader as the haskap industry unfolds over future years. And thanks for your support! :)

(In order to sign up just go to the sidebar gadget entitled Haskap Canada Followers and follow the prompts.)

Follower pressure...

Lonicera Caerulea Now On Wikipedia

Lonicera caerulea can now be found on Wikipedia. The article describes the plant, lists the different varieties, and gives a brief overview of its cultivation and uses.

Wikimedia Commons has a complimentary post.

2011 AGM Highlights

Registration

Starting at 10:00 a.m. Haskap Canada members and friends met on Saturday, March 19 at the U of SK campus for our AGM.

The morning's topics included a series of presentations covering exciting research developments that have happened over the past year, as well as current technical work on which the university is working. Dr. Bors and three of his students/co-workers presented.

Haskap Canada President Paul Mitchell and Dr. Bob Bors preparing presentations

This year Haskap Canada members were invited to make presentations of their own work in the areas of: propagation, orchards, and product development.

Thanks again to the Mitchell clan a fine lunch was served that featured haskap in everything that they served. Proceeds went to Haskap Canada.

The afternoon was spent in a formal meeting that addressed yearly agenda items, election of directors, and Haskap Canada updates and future directives.

Time for visiting among growers

It was a very worthwhile meeting with some very exciting prospects for this next year. If you are interested in any aspect of haskap, then consider joining us next year!

Notice of 2011 Annual General Meeting

Haskap Canada Association AGM will be held on Saturday March 19th., 2011 at 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM in Room 2E25 Agriculture Building, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK. All members and interested individuals/parties are invited to attend.

There will be a cost of $20 for all attendants to cover the cost of lunch. Proceeds will go to Haskap Canada.

Please RSVP if you will attend: committee@haskap.ca

Haskap and Unusual Weather

Haskap Canada is seeking information on how this year's unusual weather effected Haskap. Some parts of Canada recieved extrordinary amounts of rain. Other areas experience extreme heat. Many crops suffered with complete loss in some cases.

What was the weather like in your area and how did it effect your Haskap production? Did your plants suffer any damage? Did you notice any difference among the varieties you cultivate?

Please post a comment describing how the weather effect your Haskap.

Some Highlights From Haskap Canada’s AGM

A presentation from Dr. Bob Bors on updates of the U of S Haskap Breeding program:
- information on new selections for a Haskap pollinator
- ongoing Canadian Haskap collection program
- development of relations with industry
- haskap making it onto the Olympic menu.

Haskap Canada received a preliminary presentation on an agri-marketing report. The final report will be made available to all members and to the public once completed in April. Also presented was a hypothetical business model that any grower/ processor could use as background for their own business and which will be posted on the website once the project is complete.

A summary of the activities that the Haskap Canada board undertook for the 2009 year.

Foods made with haskap that were available for lunch: turkey and pork roasts stuffed with a haskap/pecan stuffing, haskap salad, haskap rice pilaf, haskap cheese cake, and haskap ice cream.

Fourteen products were tested in a competition – with awards of the coveted wooden, plastic, and silver spoons going to the winners!

The AGM followed in the afternoon.

NOTICE: Annual General Meeting Of Haskap Canada

Official Notice of 2010 Annual General Meeting


1) Haskap Canada Association AGM will be held on Saturday February 20th, 2010 at
10:00 AM to 2:30 PM in Room 2E25 Agriculture Building, University of Saskatchewan,
Saskatoon, SK. All members and interested individuals/parties are invited to attend.

There will be a cost of $20 for all attendants to cover the cost of lunch, wine and product sampling.

Please let us know if you plan to attend by sending a RSVP email to committee@haskap.ca


2) Outline of 2009 activities

The Board was actively involved in various projects and started numerous initiatives based on our association’s mandate. Here is a list of some of the activities:

· Planned and held the 2009 Annual General Meeting - February 28th. 2009. New directors: Craig Larson, Marty Elder and Doug Eryou. After the meeting everyone enjoyed Haskap deserts and participated in a Haskap wine tasting event.

· Held Directors meetings to plan Haskap Days at the University of Saskatchewan.

· Printed brochures describing our association for distribution to the public

· Attended various events under the SFGA banner: Gardenscape, SFGA field day, Haskap Days

· Attended a federal/ provincial workshop on funding initiatives: CAAP, Agri-Invest program, SAVI program

· Initiated a CAAP funding request for marketing/promotional material (Put on hold until March/April 2010)

· Checked into the opportunities with the Canadian Trade commissioner on the GOA (global opportunities association)

· Started the process with the Agri- marketing program for Canada Branding and funding for export development

· Applied for the Student Assisted Business and Marketing Plan Program for funding


3) Annual Haskap product competition

Will you be attending Haskap Canada's Annual General Meeting On Feb 20, 2010?

Are you going to the SFGA Conference (Jan 15 & 16) or live close to the University Of SK?

IF so, you may be able to obtain Haskap fruit from the U of SK to use in Our Haskap product competition as part of Haskap Canada's Annual General Meeting. Contact Bob Bors (bob.bors@usask.ca) to arrange a pick up time. There will be a charge of $10 per litre of fruit if you get it from the U of SK and a $10 entry fee.

If you have your own Haskap fruit, you don't have to buy it from the U of SK.

Proceeds will be used to fund student Haskap projects and to buy prizes for the winners of the Competition.

There will be prizes for: Most Original, Best tasting, Most Beautiful, and a Grand Prize.

Note: Bob Bors will only be selling the U of SK fruit to those who are entering the competition, so be prepared to pay your entry fee when you pick up your fruit.


4) 2009 / 2010 membership renewals are now due

Haskap In The News (No. 1)

Expansion and haskaps on the agenda for FDC in 2010, Portage Daily Graphic:
http://www.portagedailygraphic.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2249314

Industry / Grower Benefits, Government of Alberta:
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/newslett.nsf/all/snack15896

Blue Honeysuckle Berries Gaining In Popularity Among Western Growers, Fruit and Vegetable Magazine:
http://www.fruitandveggie.com/content/view/2172/

On the Edge of a Fruit Breakthrough, Growing Magazine:
http://www.growingmagazine.com/article.php?id=3838

Learning From the Best, National Research Council:
http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/education/students/aventis/sabc_2009.html

The sanofi-aventis BioTalent Challenge, National Research Council:
http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/education/students/aventis/index.html

News Releases - Saskatoon high school student wins top honours in national biotech competition, National Research Council:
http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/news/nrc/2009/05/06/sanofi-aventis-biotalent.html

Le Défi BioTalent sanofi aventis, Conseil national de recherches Canada:
http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/fra/education/etudiants/aventis/index.html

Apprendre des meilleurs, Conseil national de recherches Canada:
http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/fra/education/etudiants/aventis/dbsa_2009.html

Communiqués de presse - Un élève du secondaire de Saskatoon lauréat d'un concours national de biotechnologie, Conseil national de recherches Canada:
http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/fra/actualites/cnrc/2009/05/06/biotalent-sanofi-aventis.html

Annual General Meeting - 2010

The Annual General Meeting for the Haskap Canada Association will take place on Saturday, February 20th, 2010. The meeting will begin at 10:00 AM and run until 2:30 PM in Room #2E25 in the Agriculture Building located on the campus of the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK. There will be a cost of $20 which will cover the cost of lunch, wine, and other product samples.

If you plan to attend please send a RSVP email to: committee@haskap.ca.

See you there!

If You Are Planning On Planting Haskap...

...then this is a reminder that only two varieties of edible blue honeysuckle qualify for this designation. Their names are: Borealis and Tundra. You will need some less-related pollinators of haskap as well. You may read about this in Dr. Bob Bors' article entitled: Pollination Strategy (http://www.fruit.usask.ca/articles/pollinationstrategy.pdf). Edible blue honeysuckle pollinators do not qualify as haskap, even though they may be in your 'haskap orchard.' And no other varieties of edible blue honeysuckles qualify as haskap, either.

Bioactive Compounds In Honeysuckle Berries

The Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology published an article on 11/07 entitled: Survey of Bioactive Compounds in Western Canadian Berries. Berries native to Western Canada were analyzed for total anthocyanins, total phenolics, and trolox equivalentantioxidant activity (TEAC). It found that honeysuckle fruits contained the highest amount of polyphenols.

If you have access to a university or research subscription you can access the article, otherwise you will have to pay to access the article. One of the subscription sites is: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18066116, which provides the abstract of the article.

Thanks to Paul @ Battle River Berries - www.haskapberries.com - for the link!

Testimonial From The Vitinord Conference

The following was a part of an email regarding haskap potential for wine and was sent to Bob Bors after the Vitinord Conference a week ago in Quebec. We share it with permission:

The Vitinord conference was a great time... The most interesting thing I found had nothing to do with grapes at all! The Haskap - blue honeysuckle - is a plant from Japan / eastern Russia that is incredibly hardy. I have tasted wine made from this by Jim Warren, who is consulting with a winery in Manitoba. The jam that Bob Bors brought made from this fruit was wonderful. Can't wait to get more information and perhaps plant some in Peterborough for winemaking, jam and eating purposes...

--- Larry Paterson (www.littlefatwino.com)

Haskap: U.S.A. Inquiries

Haskap Canada has received numerous inquiries from people in the United States about the availability of haskap there. In response to these inquiries the president of Haskap Canada, Dave Negrych, contacted Dr. Maxine Thompson in hopes that she might assist him in tracking down contacts in that country who can supply edible blue honeysuckle. He already knew that Dr. Thompson is a researcher and does not supply plants. But he received a most gracious and encouraging response from her. We publish it here, with her permission:
__________

Dear Dave,

Yes, I am familiar with your website and blog. You folks do a wonderful job of promoting blue honeysuckle. There are several US nurseries that sell the Russian cultivars, called "honeyberries". Jim Gilbert of the nursery, 'One Green World' in Oregon has been selling this form of honeysuckle for several years and many nurseries have his selections. However, no nursery in the U.S. has the Japanese subspecies, emphyllocalyx, that I introduced from Japan... My selections are still very experimental because they are not old enough to have good information about their performance. This form of blue honeysuckle is called 'haskap' in Japan and I had hoped to retain this name specifically for the Japanese subspecies in the US in order to differentiate it from honeyberries. The two types have different climatic adaptation, with honeyberries doing poorly in moderate climate regions and Japanese forms well adapted to more moderate climates. However, I have no control over the name and I see that some Canadian nurseries are equating the 2 names. Bob Bors has decided to use it for his selections.... Bob is my friend and I have no quarrel with his choice of nomenclature.

Maxine

(Dr. Maxine Thompson)

Northern Viticulture

This November the International Association of Northern Viticulture is holding a conference near Montreal. While the focus of the conference is on grapes, there may be great opportunity for haskap vintners as well to make contacts and consider other aspects of making wine where there are short, cool summers.

http://vitinord.org/Homes/index/language:eng

Government Contact Widget: New Brunswick

New Brunswick is adding to the growing number of haskap growers across the nation...there are now growers in Rexton, the Acadieville region, and Fredericton. Good on ya, NB!

New Brunswick -

Crop and Regional Agri-Business Development Officer, Gerard Thebeau has attended Haskap Day in Saskatoon and grows several selections of blue honeysuckle (early prototypes from the U of S) as well as Borealis, Tundra, and Berry Blue. He hopes to attend future Haskap Days.

Gérard Thébeau P.Ag./ Agronome
Crop Development Officer / Agent de développement des cultures
Regional Agri-Business Development/ Développement régional de l'agro-industrie
26, rue Acadie/ 26 Acadie Street
Bouctouche, NB/ N.-B.
E4S 2T2
Tel: (506) 743-7330 Fax: (506) 743-7229

Fruit and Vegetable Magazine

Here's a new article on haskap put out by Fruit and Vegetable Magazine:

http://www.fruitandveggie.com/content/view/2172/

September Fruit

On September 3rd. 2009 I made an amazing discovery in the Honeysuckle orchard. Beautiful plump, great tasting berries! The July pickers had missed some berries hidden deep in the three year old Berry Blue bushes. The berries remained in tact and attached to the branches waiting to be picked until September. Is there any other fruit that ripens in June and can still be picked in September? None that I know about. Blue Honeysuckle is a most amazing fruit.