As Canada's reliance on U.S. produce comes into focus, one Ontario farmer has a proposal: locally grown, year-round produce, cultivated using artificial intelligence and automation. In a sprawling five-acre greenhouse, partially nestled inside a wooden red barn in King City, Ontario, an enthusiastic Jay Willmot, farmer and entrepreneur, shared his vision.
"From sowing and seeding, all the way through to harvest and packing, no one touches this crop," he said in front of rows and rows of lettuce shoots. Instead, multimillion-dollar AI and machinery do the work; the whirring and clicking of conveyor belts, hooks, and levers fill the space that was once part of his family's horse farm.
Willmot built his business, Haven Greens, to tackle the Canadian winter and a long list of obstacles that farmers face — from high labor costs to unpredictable weather. He's not alone; federal and provincial governments have offered incentives to encourage automation.
Some experts do urge caution, though — saying widespread adoption could have unintended consequences. Even without AI, a traditional greenhouse or a vertical farm would have addressed the issue of year-round growth. It's a route many are choosing to take; Canadian greenhouse lettuce production alone has quadrupled over the last decade, according to Statistics Canada.
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