Stressful time for commercial greenhouse flower producers; Easter one of a couple major days for operators like Sunrise Greenhouses

Rodney Bierhuizen said the on-again-off-again tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump have made it frustratingly difficult to stay up to date and plan for the future. - Luke Edwards photo

By Luke Edwards

For a lot of commercial flower growers, there are two key days they look forward to each year.

And while given the current state of politics Rodney Bierhuizen can’t predict what’ll happen for Mother’s Day, he’s breathing a small sigh of relief that it doesn’t appear Easter will be impacted too much.

“(At this time of year) we say all the money’s in the greenhouse, so everybody’s full for Easter and Mother’s Day and then garden centres,” the second-generation owner of Sunrise Greenhouses in Lincoln said last month.

Flower production is big business in Lincoln, generating $500 million in farm gate sales a year in the municipality. In normal times, roughly half of that comes from sales south of the border, primarily as retailers purchase inventory ahead of Easter, Mother’s Day and as garden centres get ramped up for the growing season.

Knowing the importance of the industry to the town, councillors and senior staff members met with local greenhouse flower producers last month to talk about how they could support these businesses in what is sure to be a challenging period as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to threaten tariffs on Canada.

Paul Di Ianni, director of economic development and communications for the Town of Lincoln, called it a “good discussion” as the Town tries to support local businesses affected by the trade war.

“Our policy levers to affect tariffs are minimal,” he acknowledged. “What we can do is advocate for them at the provincial and federal level.”

He also said that if it comes to it, the town can work with producers to help with roadside sales should the American market be completely shuttered. It’s something they did during the COVID-19 pandemic and is available again.

“That’s where we can play a role in terms of tourism and marketing. But hopefully it doesn’t go that route,” Di Ianni said.

The director compared the trade war to the pandemic in the sense that they both disrupted normal business and trade.

Bierhuizen, whose family has operated the business for nearly a half century, said it reminded him more of the 2008/2009 financial crisis, a challenging period that taught them lessons and helped prepare them for future economic instability.

Even with that experience Bierhuizen said the last few months have been tough.

“It’s very stressful, I think everyone can say the same thing,” he said.

“The tariffs are part of it, but it’s not knowing what the end game is here.”

He’s also president of Flowers Canada Ontario and said he’s been having regular discussions with other growers, many who are very frustrated with the uncertainty. Bierhuizen said with things changing on a daily basis it’s been tough to send out an update one day, only to have to send a followup the next day with completely different information.

“Different growers are impacted in different ways,” he said.

Getting through Easter with minimal tariff impact would go a long way in keeping the industry from catastrophe, and then Bierhuizen said they’ll just take it day by day. One benefit for his operation is that they focus on potted plants, which means overseas growers aren’t really an alternative option.

“The product has to move one way or the other,” he said, recalling dumping 60 per cent of his product back during the pandemic.

The upside back then, though, was that demand skyrocketed as soon as things returned to relative normal. That’s something economists Bierhuizen follows said is unlikely this time.

If things get particularly bad, flower growers like Sunrise could retool to grow vegetables, though there’s uncertainty there as well. On the one hand, if Canadians turn away from U.S. produce, there will be a gap to fill. But on the other hand, current greenhouse vegetable growers export a lot of their product south of the border as well.

“Our hope is not to have to change what we’re doing because it would involve a significant amount of investment and retooling,” he said.

Bierhuizen said he and other local growers were appreciative of the roundtable with town officials, pointing out nearly all the councillors were on hand.

“(The Town of Lincoln has) always been supportive of us and they’ve recognized the benefit of our industry,” he said, adding every five years his industry invests the equivalent of an auto plant.

There will also be indirect impacts should Lincoln’s flower sector be impacted. Bierhuizen said for every dollar greenhouses bring in, 90 cents is spent on supporting industries like freight and electricians. He also said it supports workforce that includes a diverse range or skillsets.

Di Ianni said they plan to have similar roundtables with other affected industries. They’ve also created a tariff response team that includes town officials, as well as the Downtown Beamsville BIA and Lincoln Chamber of Commerce. The team will continue to monitor tariff related developments, provide updates and information on services and strategies, and advocacy support.

Regardless of what happens in the coming weeks and months, Bierhuizen encourages Canadians to support local and buy Canadian. If there’s one positive that is coming out of Trump’s threats it’s that it’s rekindled a Canadian spirit that seems to be lying dormant in recent years.

“It’s good to see some Canadian pride,” he said.