'Cubic farming' in Quebec

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Using his company's proprietary Cubic Farming system, an urban farmer headquartered in Pointe Claire, Que., claims he will be able to grow 500 plants per square foot a year, the Financial Post reports. Urban Barns Foods Inc. is one of a growing number of urban controlled environment farms – indoor farms within cities.

Urban Barns' chief executive and president Richard Groome claims that, when intended upgrades are completed, Urban Barns will be able to grow 500 heads of lettuce a year per square foot of space. In an interview with ABC Radio National, Groome said "this is the highest-density mechanized machine in vertical farming we've seen in the world, so we think we have a good two to three year lead on most people."

The flagship barn, located in Mirabel, Que., is growing lettuce, basil, kale and a variety of micro greens. It currently can grow 63 heads of lettuce per square foot a year. The Urban Barns website says a cubic farm yields up to 400 times more produce while using 94 per cent less water than conventional farming methods.

The Financial Post article adds that a head of greens takes less than 30 days to grow and then, within hours of picking, will be on the shelf of a local store.  The company already has deals with Sobeys and with Quebec produce distributor Hector Larivée, and recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Bamford Produce Company Limited, which will be the primary distributor of Urban Barns products in Ontario. BF