Startup bets 'vertical farms' can boost winter berry output

Brossard-based Ferme d'Hiver said Wednesday it has begun building a "vertical farm" in Vaudreuil to produce pesticide-free berries starting in October. The three-year-old company has just raised $5 million in a so-called "seed round" from investors such as Investissement Québec to help accelerate its expansion, while the Quebec government chipped in with $1.7 million in loans and loan guarantees.

Standing about six metres tall, the indoor Vaudreuil facility will cover about 1,250 square metres and eventually produce 15 to 18 tons of strawberries a month, according to founder and chief operating officer Yves Daoust. That would double Quebec's current winter berry output, he said.

Known as precision farming, Ferme d'Hiver's technology optimizes climate conditions for indoor gardening, resulting in production and crop density per square metre that's 15 times greater than that of a traditional greenhouse, the company says.

"This is a game-changer for the growers," chief executive Alain Brisebois said in an interview Wednesday. "Instead of only producing seven months a year, they can now produce year-round. Our goal in Vaudreuil is to prove to the industry that our technology is not only viable, but profitable and that it can work on a large scale."

While most growers typically use propane to produce fruits and vegetables, Ferme d'Hiver's technology relies on electricity. As a result, the company says its solution is 30 per cent more energy efficient than a typical greenhouse, which cuts capital costs by 40 per cent.

When it strikes a deal with a grower, Ferme d'Hiver commits to buying 100 per cent of the production and acting as a wholesaler. It has a long-term contract with IGA in Quebec to deliver at least 25 tons of strawberries every week, Daoust said.

Ferme d'Hiver has signed partnership agreements with about a dozen Quebec growers thus far, and talks are underway with additional producers to buy their output, according to Brisebois.

Within three years, the company is aiming to replace 10 per cent of Quebec's strawberry imports with the production of its grower partners.

Premier François Legault has singled out food production as one of the areas in which he wants Quebec to become self-sufficient to better insulate the province from disruptions in the global supply chain — such as the current pandemic . His government unveiled plans to invest $157 million to increase the province's " food autonomy " in November.

"The government was very clear when they started financing us two years ago: the goal here is not to become the Amazon.com of strawberry production, but rather to create an industrial cluster around agri-foods," Daoust said. "We want to help create a nexus of Quebec growers with specific skills in the production of winter fruits and vegetables."

Although it's currently unprofitable, Ferme d'Hiver plans to break even when it hits 5,000 square metres of total production capacity, the CEO said.

"Given all the discussions we're having with producers, we're very confident of getting to 5,000 square metres next year. Then we can start covering our expenses," said Brisebois, a former Metro Inc. and Alimentation Couche-Tard executive. "As a startup, I would say we've just finished childhood. Now we're entering adolescence."

ftomesco@postmedia.com

Photo Š Provided by The Gazette Ferme d'Hiver president Alain Brisebois, right, and founder and COO Yves Daoust in the vertical farming grow room at their operation in Brossard.

Source: Msn Money

Source: Msn Money