For a few years, vertical farming looked like one of agriculture’s biggest technology stories. Investors poured money into automated indoor farms promising year-round production, higher yields, less land, reduced water use, shorter supply chains, and precise environmental control. The technology was impressive. The financial results were much less consistent. PitchBook reported that indoor-farming startups attracted … Read more

Canada’s greenhouse industry has historically centred on Southern Ontario, British Columbia’s Fraser Valley, and parts of Quebec. Alberta sits well outside that traditional greenhouse map. That may be starting to matter less. Modern greenhouse development depends on more than outdoor temperature. Energy availability, water, logistics, land, labour, automation, market access, and infrastructure all influence whether … Read more

Canada’s greenhouse industry is growing. The more interesting question is where that growth should happen next. For decades, Canadian greenhouse production has concentrated in a relatively small number of regions—particularly Southern Ontario, British Columbia’s Fraser Valley, and parts of Quebec. There are good reasons for that concentration. These regions combine established greenhouse expertise, transportation infrastructure, … Read more

Building the Greenhouse Is Only Half the Project We can engineer a sophisticated commercial greenhouse. That includes specifying the structure, HVAC equipment, irrigation system, fertigation equipment, lighting, sensors, environmental controls, and automation. It also involves modeling capital costs, developing construction schedules, and coordinating contractors. But there is another question that deserves just as much attention: … Read more

Building Food Security Through Infrastructure, Not Just Production Canada’s National Food Security Strategy marks an important shift in how food security is being discussed across the country. While food security conversations have traditionally focused on increasing agricultural production, there is growing recognition that production alone is only one part of the solution. In reality, a … Read more

Canada’s Food System Is Becoming Increasingly Vulnerable Food Security Is National Security is no longer a theoretical conversation. Across Canada and around the world, food systems are facing increasing pressure from inflation, climate instability, transportation disruptions, labour shortages, fertilizer volatility, and geopolitical uncertainty. These pressures are exposing just how dependent many regions remain on long … Read more

Why Food Infrastructure Matters: Food Security vs Food Sovereignty Canada’s food system is entering a period of major change and understanding the difference between Food Security vs Food sovereignty is critical as we build more resilient agricultural systems. Rising food prices, global supply chain instability, fertilizer volatility, climate disruptions, transportation bottlenecks, labour shortages, and geopolitical … Read more