Up We Grow
Throughout history farmers have always been incredibly innovative and resilient; it’s no different today. In partnership with engineering, biochemistry, robotics and other tech sectors, agriculture is burgeoning with fixes for almost every problem farmers face.
Today’s agricultural technology not only makes it easier to grow food, it actually creates improvements for society and can even help regenerate the environment. Robots can ease labour demands. Drones perform difficult, time-consuming tasks such as collecting information about pests that threaten crops. Computerized tracking devices improve animals’ well- being. State-of-the-art pesticides target insects using natural ingredients. And enclosed, indoor vertical growing systems eliminate the need for climate stability, large areas of arable land and a plentiful water source.
Many of the companies providing these technologies call the Lower Mainland home. Terramera, a global agtech leader based in Vancouver, brings together science, nature and artificial intelligence to create technologies that eliminate pests without harming the environment. Candrone, based in Burnaby, is the oldest Canadian company of its kind providing drone technology to the agriculture industry.
Then there’s the support B.C. post-secondary institutions provide for emerging agricultural technologies. For example, the University of British Columbia is nurturing a team of more than 40 students who collaborate with the shared goal of “developing a fully autonomous agricultural robot, driven by their belief that Canada can lead the world in sustainable farming.” When complete, this “AgroBot” will ideally be able to “precisely exterminate weeds and fertilize crops as well as record data from a farmer’s operation.”
But unfortunately even these impressive innovations don’t solve B.C.’s biggest agricultural challenge: the scarcity of affordable arable land. There is a solution, though — the same one that’s always trotted out during a real estate crisis. It’s time to build up instead of out. This is how vertical agriculture will save the day.
CubicFarms, another B.C. agritech company (based in Langley, with a “Farm Innovation Centre” in Pitt Meadows), has developed an automated, climate-controlled vertical agriculture system. The system maximizes crop yield, provides independent local food access and drastically reduces environmental cost. No farmland required.
CubicFarms offers one model to farmers ready to tap into the huge demand for local leafy greens and microgreens grown without pesticides or herbicides. Their other technology, the HydroGreen grow system, is for farmers who want to both optimize their livestock’s health and reduce their environmental impact by growing living animal feed indoors all year round.
This approach shows that at the very same time it’s solving the most pressing land use problems, vertical agriculture can also eliminate other core threats to agricultural viability: water use, labour shortages, volatile climate and depleted soil. For example, a single HydroGreen module for producing livestock feed replaces up to one hundred acres of grazing land to produce higher quality feed with only a fraction of the water. It’s technology, but it might as well be magic.
“Our job is developing the technology to enable commercial-scale local food production everywhere,” says Dave Dinesen, CubicFarms’ CEO. Because the system is entirely enclosed and climate controlled, everywhere means even non-arable land and unsuitable climates such as stormy areas like Puerto Rico (where CubicFarms’ founders Jack and Leo Benne came up with the concept in the aftermath of a hurricane).
For the first time in human history, this technology can provide reliable, year-round fresh food production sustainably. Considering that one in four crops failed prior to the onset of industrialized farming (and the harm perpetuated by industrial agriculture), this is miraculous indeed.
And there’s more good news. CubicFarms produce is still alive because it’s harvested with the root on, so the flavour, crispness and nutrients remain. This also means a longer shelf life and thus reduced food waste. And it’ll cost you the same amount as a sad old hunk of leaves trucked up from California a few weeks ago.
With COVID-19 highlighting the fragility of international food systems, it’s more important than ever to enable year-round local food production that supports regional food security without pesticides, herbicides, environmental harm or reliance on fossil fuels. CubicFarms believes that long chain food dependence is dangerous, so they’re dedicated to helping farmers transition into local chains that protect people, planet and economy.
While CubicFarms growers are already established in Alberta, the first B.C. grower is Armstrong’s Greenlion Farms. Soon you’ll see the “ALLWays local” brand on Okanagan restaurant menus and bags of living leafy greens on grocery store shelves.
You’ll also see the smiling faces of farmers Mark and Lesley van Deursen on those bags. Greenlion Farms is a new enterprise for the couple, but the larger van Deursen family has been farming for generations — first in the Netherlands, and now in B.C. Mark arrived in Canada with his parents and brothers when he was 14, and together they ran the family dairy operation in Armstrong. Mark and his brothers loved farming, but being tied down to a dairy farm 24/7 was too restrictive.
After high school Mark kept his hand in farming while shifting his career into agricultural sales. His territory includes Alberta, which is where he learned about CubicFarms several years ago — at exactly the right moment.
With three young children (and now another on the way) the van Deursens were looking for a change. All they knew was that they wanted something to do with farming and something that would let Mark stay home with his growing family — but it needed to make a positive contribution to the environment and local economy. CubicFarms was the perfect fit, with its unique approach involving so much less water, energy and labour than other farming — not to mention no pesticides or herbicides.
There was just one catch. The financial outlay in the system is significant, and the van Deursens worried about making a return on their investment. Luckily, there’s a contract system — CubicFarms Garden — whereby growers can choose to sell some or all of their produce through established corporate channels that provide a guaranteed market. “It was such a blessing,” Lesley says. “Once we learned about the brokerage system we were like, ‘Yes!’ It’s a huge relief not to have to deal with the marketing side.”
The van Deursen family enjoys a whole foods, plant-based diet, so they’re passionate about growing healthy microgreens and leafy greens for CubicFarms. And knowing that the greens they’re growing make healthy eating even easier for those in their community has kept them motivated throughout the challenges of setting up a new business while raising three busy little boys.
“Mark has been involved since construction started,” Lesley reports. “It’s very special. He’s on site every day. The boys sometimes get to sit on the excavator with their dad. They see how dedicated we are and how hard we’re working to provide good food for people. It’s so exciting. They’re excited too.”
Lesley hopes vertical agriculture will advance to a point in which it can be used for growing calorically dense crops to improve food security. “You can’t solve world hunger with greens,” she admits. “That takes a staple food. But this technology only needs a bit of clean water — not tons of space or climate consistency — so my dream is that we can chip away at world hunger with the realistic aim to eliminate it within a generation or two.”
None of this is news to Nick Brusatore of Abbotsford-based Affinor Growers. Brusatore has been pioneering the technology involved in vertical agriculture since the 1990s. He can recite its benefits chapter and verse.
Despite the decades of uphill battles he’s fought to establish vertical agriculture, Brusatore isn’t burnt out. He’s excited. “I see it as my duty to help produce food for Canada. We’re taking food security to a whole new level. I want to help the future of agriculture flourish sustainably.”
He sounds like a kid in a candy store when he describes the automated system Affinor has patented for growing strawberries, romaine lettuce and spinach. Strawberries are the holy grail of agriculture, but their unlimited market demand is counterbalanced by how finicky this crop is to grow, protect and transport.
Affinor’s indoor vertical system circumvents these challenges. Its automated technology is energy efficient, plus it eliminates water waste and results in soil regeneration, all without jeopardizing the quality of the food. On the contrary, Brusatore is proud of his research with top quality scientists at leading universities to ensure that Affinor can mass produce highly nutritious crops while simultaneously controlling and improving soil quality.
“What keeps me going is the quest for true sustainability,” Brusatore says. “I’m thinking about my grandchildren, especially in terms of water quality, global warming and population growth. I’ve always believed the world would grow into vertical agriculture — because we have to. And now people are ready. This is our moment.”
It’s not just the moment for big companies. Even the smallest agricultural operations can thrive using vertical agriculture. Gecko Greens in Chilliwack is the perfect example. They use a vertical growing system to produce small crops of specialty microgreens. Customers in Chilliwack, Agassiz and Harrison Hot Springs enjoy home delivery on Tuesdays.
Gecko Greens founder Joost Moeleker wasn’t a farmer when he emigrated from the Netherlands six years ago. His bachelor’s degree focused on urban and regional planning, but he enrolled in all the vertical and urban farming courses he could. “I knew it was the way forward for agriculture,” says Moeleker. At university he learned to work with design software, which helped him land a job in Lethbridge, Alberta, as an irrigation designer for Southern Irrigation. He’s still with the company, now working as a project coordinator and overseeing many different irrigation projects.
Moeleker married his passion for vertical agriculture and aptitude for design by creating a small, fully enclosed, climate- controlled microgreens production facility. “I wanted to try it out for myself on a manageable scale. I love the idea of urban and vertical farming — it’s local production without logistics. Anyone can grow anywhere, anytime.”
He now runs Gecko Greens with his wife, Joanne. Despite her career as a nurse, Joanne takes care of the harvesting, deliveries and coordinating of most of the sales.
For the Moelekers, as aspiring farmers with full-time day jobs — and without the means to obtain a farm — the “anywhere, anytime” model was perfect.
“We built a box out of panels. It looks like a shipping container, and it’s completely mobile. The total footprint is just 8 by 16 feet. Right now we’re only using half of that. We can double production as our customer base grows.”
The Gecko Greens approach isn’t fully automated like the CubicFarms system, but that’s okay with Moeleker. “Our method is fairly labour intensive. I don’t mind that — we’re proud of the way we do things. We hand harvest, and that speaks to our customers. We feel in touch with our food. So do they.”
They’re especially proud of how fresh the Gecko Greens microgreens are. “It’s incomparable. Joanne harvests the day before delivery, so the nutrients are at their highest concentration.”
While Moeleker was initially fascinated by the technology of vertical agriculture, he’s become passionate about the people too. “When customers come back and tell us about their experiences with the microgreens — how healthy they feel — that’s a boost. It’s amazing.”
That being said, what Moeleker really wants people to know is how easy — and necessary — growing food is. “I would like everyone to understand that they can grow their own food. Even if you live in an apartment, you can grow your own food indoors on a small scale. The technology is here now to make it viable. Anyone can do it. It’s not too expensive, and it’s not difficult. Self-sufficiency is so important. That’s the real drive for me.”
Top researchers also recognize the importance of self-sufficient food production for supporting national food security.
Dr. Lenore Newman, director of the Food and Agriculture Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley, believes vertical agriculture will be a critical component of a food-secure Canada. “Fresh fruit and vegetables any time of year, anywhere in Canada, sustainably produced at a reasonable price. That is the promise of vertical agriculture.” Newman expects rapid growth in this sector, and she manages several research projects that aim to make this dream a reality.
In the meantime, if you live in the Okanagan or eastern Fraser Valley, you can already have your fresh greens and eat them too — all year long.
