B.C. farmer says vertical farming offers the prospect of strawberry fields forever | 24CA News
After coping with bouts of extreme climate, a farmer in B.C.’s Fraser Valley says he and his household are vertical farming to develop strawberries.
Recent years have seen a warmth dome and flooding, says Amir Maan of Maan Farms in Abbotsford, B.C. That’s had an impression on crops.
“We’re growing 25, almost 30 acres of strawberries outdoors, but we’re only harvesting 10 acres’ worth because of all the loss,” he mentioned.
Those losses led to discussions with his father about the way forward for the household farm.
Last 12 months, Maan’s household invested in a vertical greenhouse to shift 10 acres of strawberries indoors.
“Weather is the one thing that you can’t control, and as a farmer, being able to control it with the greenhouse indoors is the closest thing you can do to make sure you have a reliable crop for your community,” Maan mentioned.
Lenore Newman, director of the Food and Agriculture Institute on the University of the Fraser Valley, says vertical greenhouses have been efficiently used to develop leafy greens.
Strawberries, though tougher to develop than issues like lettuce, are “the next frontier,” she mentioned.
“They’re really the next big crop, and then other berries will probably follow because they’re very high value and people want them,” Newman mentioned.
Maan says he wish to see different farms within the Fraser Valley be part of him.
The largest barrier, he mentioned, is startup prices.
In his case, he says the funding has been value it because it has allowed his household to proceed farming.
“It’s not … just the economics. It’s also about growing strawberries in the Fraser Valley, and that’s what we love to do,” he mentioned.
It may be a win for the planet, he says, as locally-grown strawberries result in fewer emissions than importing the fruit.
“I think that’s the most important thing is that we’re able to still grow local food and not depend on large corporations and importing as much.”
