Overview

We are seeking an experienced Greenhouse IPM & Crop Health Specialist with direct, hands-on experience managing pest and disease pressure in commercial greenhouse environments.

This is a hands-on greenhouse role. The successful candidate will spend the majority of their working day in the greenhouse, systematically scouting crops, identifying pests and diseases, monitoring beneficial insects and biological control agents, assessing environmental conditions, and adapting the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program as conditions change.

Greenhouse environments create unique pest-management challenges. Temperature, humidity, crop density, irrigation, ventilation, seasonal changes, and biological control populations can all significantly affect pest and disease development. The successful candidate must understand these interactions through practical greenhouse experience and be able to adjust pest-management strategies accordingly.

This role serves as the primary set of eyes on crop health throughout the greenhouse and provides timely, evidence-based observations and recommendations to the Production Manager.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

Greenhouse IPM & Crop Health Scouting

- Conduct routine, systematic scouting walks across all greenhouse zones and crop areas, spending substantial time physically inspecting plants and growing areas for common greenhouse pests and diseases, recognizing early signs before populations or damage become economically significant.
- Maintain and interpret sticky cards, scouting records, pest counts, hotspot maps, and population trend data.
- Identify pest hotspots and emerging issues and communicate findings promptly to the Production Manager.
- Develop, implement, and continuously refine an IPM program based on crop stage, pest pressure, environmental conditions, biological control activity, and established action thresholds.
- Recommend and coordinate appropriate biological, cultural, mechanical, environmental, and chemical controls based on scouting results.
- Understand how greenhouse environmental conditions—including temperature, humidity, ventilation, irrigation, crop density, and seasonal changes—affect pest development, disease pressure, and biological control performance, and adapt IPM strategies accordingly.
- Coordinate with the Production Manager regarding product selection, application timing, treatment thresholds, compatibility with biological controls, and rotation schedules.
- Apply IPM principles that support resistance management and protect established biological control programs.
- Evaluate and document the effectiveness of IPM interventions and recommend follow-up actions.
- Maintain awareness of pesticide compatibility with beneficial insects and other biological control agents.

Greenhouse Environmental & Crop Health Monitoring

- Observe relationships between environmental conditions and crop health, pest development, disease pressure, and biological control performance.
- Communicate environmental or crop-health conditions that may contribute to pest or disease outbreaks.
- Adapt scouting priorities and IPM recommendations as greenhouse conditions change throughout the year.
- Work closely with production staff to identify conditions that may increase pest, disease, or phytosanitary risk.

Crop Progress & Traceability

- Inspect incoming plant shipments and verify quantities, condition, and phytosanitary quality before plant material enters the greenhouse,



identifying and documenting all quality concerns
- Track plant material from intake through propagation and production zones, recording movements, discards, and key development milestones.
- Communicate crop-health concerns and growth deviations to the Production Manager in a timely manner.
- Maintain accurate traceability records associated with crop batches and greenhouse movements.

Sanitation & Phytosanitary Compliance

- Conduct regular greenhouse inspections for sanitation, pest-entry, cross-contamination, and phytosanitary risks.
- Identify conditions or practices that may contribute to pest and disease introduction or spread and recommend corrective actions.
- Support implementation and monitoring of greenhouse sanitation and biosecurity protocols.
- Maintain records required under the Plant Protection Act, CFIA plant-health surveillance programs, pesticide application requirements, and internal quality standards.
- Ensure scouting, treatment, sanitation, and compliance documentation is complete, accurate, and audit-ready.

Reporting & Documentation

- Provide the Production Manager with structured scouting reports covering pest and disease pressure, beneficial insect activity, environmental observations, crop-health trends, and recommended actions.
- Escalate significant pest, disease, or phytosanitary issues promptly.
- Support IPM trials, biological-control evaluations, and variety or crop trials as required.
- Capture and analyze relevant observations and data to support future production and IPM decisions.
- Use Microsoft Office 365, particularly Excel, Word, and Outlook, for record keeping, data tracking, and reporting.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

Required

- Minimum two (2) years of direct, hands-on experience with Integrated Pest Management in a commercial greenhouse or controlled-environment agriculture operation.
- Demonstrated practical experience scouting greenhouse crops for pests and diseases, not solely academic or laboratory experience.
- Strong practical knowledge of common greenhouse pests, mites, diseases, pathogens, and beneficial insects/biocontrol agents, particularly those affecting ornamental crops.
- Practical understanding of how temperature, humidity, ventilation, irrigation, crop density, and seasonal environmental changes influence pest and disease populations and biological control performance.
- Demonstrated ability to modify scouting and IPM strategies in response to changing greenhouse conditions and pest pressure.
- Pesticide application license or the ability to obtain the appropriate Ontario pesticide application certification/licence.
- Working knowledge of CFIA requirements, the Plant Protection Act, and greenhouse phytosanitary and biosecurity practices.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office 365, particularly Excel, Word, and Outlook.

Education

- Post-secondary education in plant science, biology, agriculture, entomology, or a related field is preferred.
- Relevant hands-on greenhouse IPM experience is essential and will be given significant consideration than education alone.





PHYSICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS This is an active, physically demanding greenhouse-based position. The successful candidate must be comfortable working in the greenhouses for the majority of the workday.

The ability to

- Remain on your feet and actively move through greenhouse production areas for extended periods, including most of the workday.
- Bend, crouch, reach, kneel, and work around and within dense crop set ups for scouting.
- Lift and carry materials weighing up to 20 kg (44 lb).
- Work safely and effectively in hot, humid greenhouse conditions during the summer, and cooler conditions during the winter.

The successful candidate must understand that this position as Greenhouse IPM/Crop Health Specialist is not an office-based monitoring role. Effective pest management requires consistent physical presence in the crop, frequent scouting, close observation, and the ability to respond to changing environmental and biological conditions. WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR The ideal candidate is someone who has actually worked inside commercial greenhouses actively participating in the IPM program and understands the practical realities of greenhouse pest management.

You should be comfortable answering questions such as:

- What are you seeing in the crop, and how do you know?
- Is the insect you found a pest or a beneficial?
- Is the pest population increasing, decreasing or remaining stable?
- Where are the hotspots and what may be causing them?
- How are current environmental conditions affecting the pest?
- When should an intervention occur based on the action threshold?

The successful candidate will combine strong greenhouse observation skills, practical entomology and plant-health knowledge, biological-control experience, environmental awareness, and disciplined documentation to protect the crop health throughout the production cycle.

Other requirements

- Personal transportation required (facility not serviced by public transit).
- Ability to work a adaptable schedule during peak planting and growing periods.

Compensation

- Pay - $25/hour
- Company-based performance bonus - eligibility as per internal policy.
- Benefits - health spend account after six (6) months of continuous employment.
- Vacation entitlement - as per minimum requirements under the Ontario Employment Standards Act.

Work Schedule

- 42.5 hours per week; Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm with a 30-minute unpaid lunch and two paid 15-minute breaks.
- Potential for additional hours and weekend work during peak production seasons.

Work Location

- 250 Highway 8, Hamilton, ON L9H 5E1

Application instructions This is an existing, vacant role.

Apply through Indeed with your resume and a cover letter briefly describing your experience for this role. The applications will be reviewed by members of the hiring team. AI tools will not be used to screen applications. Only candidates that meet the job requirements will be contacted for an interview. Please do not contact the business about the posting or status of your application.

Harster Greenhouses Inc. is committed to meeting the accessibility needs of all individuals in accordance with the AODA and Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC). Should you require accommodation during the recruitment and selection process, please let us know.

Pay: $25.00 per hour

Expected hours: 42.5 per week

Experience

- integrated pest management: 2 years (required)

Work Location: In person

📌 Greenhouse Technician - IPM/Crop Health Specialist (Canada)
🏢 Harster Greenhouses
📍 Canada