A new era of farming is on its way to central Alberta.
Foundation Farms Corporation, a subsidiary of GME Innotainment will be building an indoor vertical farm at a warehouse in Red Deer this year.
In a press release, the company said they hope to see the farm go into production in the second half of 2021. They are leasing 2,000 square feet of a 15,000 square foot warehouse to build the farm.
They said plans include manufacturing and assembly of future vertical farm units. It will also provide regional product sales and distribution headquarters for the company’s products.
“We have an ambitious growth plan that includes the deployment of numerous vertical farms throughout North America,” said Ed Kroeker, CEO of Foundation Farms.
“We are also assembling plans for additional innovative agriculture ventures that continue the theme of sustainability and local sourcing of food products for today’s consumers. The ability to establish our E-ROOTS vertical farm alongside our new manufacturing and assembly plant provides the opportunity to leapfrog our growth.”
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The E-ROOTS system that they use incorporates hydrodynamic and ultrasonic cavitation equipment as the core technology, along with air injection to enhance crop production through natural root stimulation
The process is designed to create a supersaturated oxygen condition for the water-based nutrient solution that is fed to the plants. No chemicals are used in the process.
According to the Foundation Farms Corp. website, they grow herbs, leafy greens, microgreens and edible flowers. Foundation Farms claims that their plants are 30 per cent more productive than traditional soil-based growing, that they grow three times faster and use 95 per cent less water.
They also say their model is more direct to the consumer than the traditional model.
“While the current socio-economic situation throughout North America and indeed most of the world has devastated many business sectors, the demand for sustainable and localized food production has never been greater than it is today,” said Yves R. Michel, GMEV CEO.
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