Fireside Chat & Q&A: Growing the Future of Horticulture

Join us for an engaging fireside chat at the Green Trade Expo in Ottawa on March 2 & 3, 2027, where industry professionals come together to explore the trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the future of horticulture. Through an open conversation with industry experts, we’ll share insights, exchange ideas, and discuss practical approaches to growing a stronger, more sustainable, and innovative horticulture industry.

The conversation will be followed by an interactive Q&A, giving attendees the opportunity to ask questions, share perspectives, and connect directly with our speakers. Whether you’re a grower, retailer, supplier, landscaper, or horticulture industry professional, this is your chance to gain fresh insights, spark new ideas, and be part of the conversation driving our industry forward.

Come ready to listen, learn, ask questions, and grow together!

Program timing and speakers are subject to change

AGENDA

Tuesday March 2, 2027

9:30 AM
SUB Program | Lindsey Ross - Living Green Landscaping Inc.

11:00 AM
Electric Equipment | Masood Yarmand - Yarmand

Session Title: Charge & Change: Managing the Latest Tech and Electric Shift in the Landscape Trade

Session Description:
Join us in the Learning Lounge for a practical fireside chat breaking down the shift toward electric equipment and smart technology in the landscaping industry. Moving to battery power is more than swapping gas cans for charging cords—it requires managing the change with your crews and managing the charge across your trailers and shop. We’ll explore the newest commercial gear, real-world battery logistics, and what equipment advancements are coming next. Bring your questions and join an honest conversation about the future of battery power in the field.

Bio:
Masood Yarmand is the co-founder of YARMAND, an outdoor power equipment dealership and service business with over 25 years in the trade. He works closely with landscape contractors and commercial operators to navigate practical equipment reliability, shop service, and the real-world shift toward the latest equipment and battery-powered fleets.

For more context on Masood's background and his perspective on the industry's direction, listen to Building a 25-Year Business and the ePowered Future with Masood Yarmand and The Future of Landscaping: Expert Panel on Innovation, Electric Fleets & Operations

1:30 PM
Entry level pricing formulas to ensure overhead recovery | Paul Doornbos - Thornbusch Landscaping

Wednesday March 3, 2027

9:30 AM
How Healthy Soils Support Plant Health | Bob Reeves - Root Rescue Environmental Products

Session Title: How Healthy Soils Support Plant Health

Session Description:
Soil health is a term being talked about more and more by landscape professionals — and by the companies that provide products to the landscape construction and maintenance industry. This is an exciting new idea built on our growing understanding of the ancient relationship between plants and their soil environment; we will dig deep into this idea.

The presentation will present answers to:

What exactly is soil health?
What’s going on in the hidden world below grade?
What are microbes and other organisms doing down there, and who are they?
What powers this system?
How does a healthy soil environment keep plants fed and healthy?
How do we improve soil health? What do we need to change about what we do?
Why grow plants with ‘biology’ instead of ‘chemistry’?
How does a soil health-based program improve the health of your company?

Bob’s presentations always conclude with a lively Q & A session.

Bio:
Bob has come to believe that the secret to plant success (and our professional success) is hiding under our feet. He began the Soil Health/Root Rescue project in 2005 with a discovery made at his family’s nursery / garden centre, Reeves Florist & Nursery, in Woodbridge, Ontario. He has worn many hats over the years: grower, nursery buyer, IT manager, and landscape designer & estimator for his own designbuild company. Bob was also the original developer of the widely used landscape design and quotation software suite - DynaScape. At the core of his career has been the pursuit of his twin loves: plants, and industry innovation. He advocates strongly for a holistic approach to growing and sustaining the landscapes we all work with. Bob is the Founder and General Manager of Root Rescue Environmental Products.

Root Rescue Environmental Products

11:00 AM
Where Did All the Money Go? Understanding Cash Flow in Construction | Walid Doumyati - Precision Growth Partners

1:30 PM
Landscape Ontario Membership Benefits | Justin Kolemann

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Fireside Chat & Q&A: Growing the Future of Horticulture

AGENDA

Tuesday March 2, 2027

9:30 AM SUB Program | Lindsey Ross - Living Green Landscaping Inc.

11:00 AM Electric Equipment | Masood Yarmand - Yarmand

1:30 PM Entry level pricing formulas to ensure overhead recovery | Paul Doornbos - Thornbusch Landscaping