Agriculture | Quebec strawberries all year round

Getting baskets of Quebec strawberries at the supermarket between October and June may become commonplace. The firm Winter Farm has just inaugurated its very first installation, which will allow it to produce 180,000 kilos per year, thanks to a technology that is unique in the country. The coveted red fruit grown in winter will be found in more than twenty IGA supermarkets over the next few months. The long-term objective: to replace 10% of strawberry imports.

Nathaelle Morissette
Press

“Each year, 130 million kilos of strawberries from California, Mexico and Florida are imported into Canada,” said Alain Brisebois, President and CEO of Ferme d’hiver. “Strawberries are a product that consumers love. He is used to tasting a tasty strawberry in the summer and, as soon as September arrived, unfortunately, we were stuck with a strawberry that crosses the entire continent. “

“Our mission is to start production between September and June to offer a solution with a strawberry produced locally without chemical pesticides. “

So in a room of 575 square meters, without a window, there are 11 rows, each with 5,000 strawberry plants. These are illuminated by light pipes of 1200 watts. They thus receive 16 hours of sunshine per day. Through the growing fruit, bumblebees wander from one pot to another. This is the concept of Winter Farm.

The difference between a greenhouse and a production unit like the Winter Farm? “The greenhouse needs the sun. You can’t put 14 plants on top of each other, the sun won’t show. What we, vertically, can do, because the sun, which is the LED light, is in front of the plant, ”explains Mr. Brisebois.

To carry out its project, the company enters into partnerships with greenhouse market gardeners. In this case, it is the Serres Vaudreuil. “All of the energy used for the lights of the strawberries is recovered as heat to heat the greenhouse of the market gardener”, underlines Yves Daoust, founder and head of operations of Ferme d’hiver.

Thus, unlike strawberries already produced in greenhouses in winter, as Savoura does in particular, the Winter Farm unit makes it possible to produce more, in a smaller space, explain the two men behind the project. And they will be able to deliver strawberries consistently and allow consumers to find them, week after week.

Other Winter Farm projects like the one in Vaudreuil should see the light of day in the coming years. Do we want to replace foreign strawberries on the shelves in winter? “We don’t have that pretension,” replies Mr. Brisebois, “because 130 million kilos is a lot. Our business model is more than about 10% of this production. So we end up with a product that is of higher quality. Our claim is more to offer an alternative solution: a fruit picked and consumed 24 hours later. It is incomparable to a strawberry that has spent a week crossing the continent. “

Supermarkets demand

Currently, the product called Winter Strawberry is sold in two IGA stores. In the next few months, we expect to be able to supply 25. The company has entered into an agreement with Sobeys (IGA). Other brands would also be interested.

“Demand is not a problem. Our challenge is to build production capacity. We want to do it as much as possible in Quebec. We have access to attractive electric rates. We have high quality market gardeners. “

“I want them because it’s local, and the more things go, the more people ask for local,” said Samuel Lauzon, director of operations for the IGA Famille Déziel stores, interviewed on the sidelines of the inauguration. “With Winter Farm, we will be able to have strawberries all year round on a constant basis. The goal is for the customer to be able to always find the strawberry from Quebec. The demand is very strong for products from Quebec, the winter even more because there is not much [dans les fruits et légumes]. “

Currently the product sells for $ 5.99 to $ 6.99 for an 850ml size.

Present at the inauguration on Friday, the Minister of Economy and Innovation, Pierre Fitzgibbon, visited the production unit and praised the merits of the project. “In the economic development of Quebec, particularly regional, we think of different sectors:“ made in Quebec ”, we think of food self-sufficiency, we are 50% in Quebec, and innovation. Innovation is the keystone in closing our wealth gap with Ontario and the United States. An innovation like this is fine [inciter] young people very sensitive to climate change to come and work in a company like this one. So that [touche] lots of growth vectors, even if it’s a small project. “

Investissement Québec is also a partner in the adventure.