Two Canadian indoor farming startups are coming together as sticker shock in the produce aisle becomes more pronounced for Canadians.
The two companies hope to create a “more resilient domestic food supply” and a way for Canadian innovation to enter international markets.
Toronto-based Elevate Farms acquired Ottawa-based Fieldless Farms on Jan. 23, combining two AgTech startups that grow leafy greens all year long thanks to their indoor farming technologies. Elevate’s chairman said in a statement that bringing in Fieldless will create a “Canadian food powerhouse.”
“Together, Elevate and Fieldless are building a homegrown success story championing Canadian food sovereignty and security while unlocking opportunities for accelerated global expansion,” Elevate CEO Amin Jadavji said.
Launched in 2019, Fieldless uses indoor farming technology to produce leafy greens through controlled environment agriculture (CEA). This allows the farm to create an ideal climate for growing produce throughout the year while preventing environmental contaminants, such as runoff from livestock farms, from affecting the produce.
Fieldless operates a facility in Cornwall, Ont. and sells the fruits (or vegetables) of its labour to Farm Boy and independent grocers across Ontario and Québec. The startup raised more than $20 million over its lifetime, including over $2 million from a FrontFundr campaign it launched last year to expand its operations.
RELATED: Fieldless Farms secures $17.5 million to expand indoor farm, leafy greens product line
Elevate Farms runs a similar indoor farming operation, using hydroponics, automation, and photobiology to grow leafy greens in a climate-controlled environment. The company, which has raised north of $25 million, says it has projects in the works in the US, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates.
Fieldless founder and CEO Jon Lomow said in a statement that the two companies can together create a “more resilient domestic food supply” and a way for Canadian innovation to enter international markets.
“With shifting global trade policies and new U.S. tariffs disrupting Canadian food imports and demand, investing in local production has never been more important,” Lomow said.
Lomow told CBC last year that Fieldless was selling out two to four times faster than it was before the US and Canada’s economic dispute spurred a “buy Canadian” trend.
Featured image courtesy Fieldless Farms.