Dave Charbonneau
CTV News Ottawa Multi-Skilled Journalist
In the face of harsh Canadian winters that pose challenges for traditional outdoor farming, one Cornwall-based company is revolutionizing agriculture by transforming it into a year-round business.
Agtech startup Fieldless Farms has adopted a controlled indoor environment to cultivate leafy greens, ensuring a continuous supply of fresh produce on grocery shelves, regardless of weather conditions.
CEO Jon Lomow says the company’s mission is to promote food sovereignty and sustainability, aiming to bring joy to consumers through their fresh, locally grown products.
“In Canada, we import around $50 billion worth of food annually, boasting the world’s largest lettuce trade deficit. Despite our love for lettuce, we face limitations due to unfavorable Canadian growing conditions,” said Lomow.
The innovative technology enables the cultivation of produce 24/7 without the need for herbicides, pesticides, or chemical treatments.
“It’s like they’re living outside on the perfect day, every day,” said Lomow about his greens.
Agtech startup Fieldless Farms has adopted a controlled indoor environment to cultivate leafy greens all year long. (Dave Charbonneau/CTV News Ottawa)
They will also be offering more produce in the near future. Fieldless Farms recently introduced mushrooms to their list of products. Patrick Knowles, the company’s vice-president of operations, showcased the company’s new lion’s mane mushrooms.
“These grow in 21 days, out of these blocks, and we shred them for customer convenience,” said Knowles.
One major outlet for Fieldless Farms’ produce is Farm Boy, where the locally grown goods are rapidly gaining popularity among customers.
Trevor Gervais, Farm Boy’s vice-president of marketing, expressed his enthusiasm for supporting local businesses and commended Fieldless Farms’ commitment to sustainability.
“We love supporting local, and that’s really how we build the company. To have a company come out of Cornwall, where we started, we were right on board with these guys from the beginning,” said Gervais.
The greens are also packaged in environmentally friendly cardboard boxes designed to keep the produce fresher and can easily be recycled.
“We get emails all the time from people saying how much they love the product, how much they love our new packaging, and that kind of keeps us going all the time. It’s great,” said Lomow.