In Northern Ontario, where the growing season is shorter and the climate is harsher, producers are turning to technology to extend their seasons.
But technology alone isn’t enough to address the myriad challenges facing horticulture in the North, as growers and stakeholders learned during a recent panel discussion hosted by the Northern Ontario Farm Innovation Alliance (NOFIA).
The talk stemmed from a recently published report — Technology Roadmap to Northern Ontario Horticulture — which was a joint effort of NOFIA and the Vineland Research & Innovation Centre. Benjamin Feagin, a cofounder of the container farm AgriTech North in Dryden, noted that one of the biggest challenges for northern growers is distribution.
Launched in 2022, AgriTech North is an indoor growing operation that utilizes vertical grow towers and specialized lighting to create a climate-controlled, pest-free environment for its vegetable crops. Without a regional distribution centre, food producers like Feagin are responsible for getting their products out to clients, he noted, and that can add significantly to their production costs. “That’s what makes it difficult to stimulate small business in the food sector in remote communities is the cost of transportation,” he said.
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