Canada (Commonwealth Union) _ Winter Farm plans to utilize the funds to construct a vertical farm specialized to strawberry cultivation. Every year, the Vaudreuil site will ensure that almost one million kilograms of Fraise d’hiver strawberries reach the market. Winter Farm, a Quebec-based startup aiming to replace 10% of Canada’s strawberry imports, has raised $46 million. This was made possible by the Quebec government and Investment Québec, as well as the inclusion of additional investors.
Winter Farm will utilize this cash to construct a vertical farm devoted to strawberry cultivation. The Vaudreuil location will ensure that roughly one million kilograms of Fraise d’hiver strawberries reach the market each year. Six 600 m2 vertical farms will be added to two existing farms in the following months. These systems will allow Winter Farm to produce high-quality strawberries all year in Quebec while utilizing 20 to 25 times less area than open-field production, recovering 90 percent of irrigation water utilized, and emitting minimum greenhouse emissions.
Winter Farm announces the acquisition of Les Serres Vaudreuil, formerly held by the St-Denis family, who will now supervise operations and production of Fraise d’hiver strawberries in order to execute this project in Vaudreuil. The family will continue to contribute to local agriculture.
“The entrance of new partners is a vote of confidence in Winter Farm’s industrial potential and our ability to supply exceptional quality fruit,” said Alain Brisebois, President and CEO of Winter Farm. “Innovation is vital to establish a more sustainable and competitive local agribusiness that can challenge import markets. We would like to thank the St-Denis family for joining us on this excursion. Their participation will immediately help to creating Vaudreuil a world-class technological showcase for the vertical farming sector!” They help to the development of a sustainable agricultural sector by supporting local production and encouraging the purchasing of local Quebec goods.
