Clyde Simmons hopes to get approval to use about 100 acres of Crown land for a large greenhouse project to provide local grocery stores with vegetables that traditionally have a tough time being shipped here. According to The Western Star, The Corner Brook businessman hopes the stigma of a provincially-funded agriculture project in the 1980s will not deter the government from helping him set up a greenhouse in the Deer Lake area. He has been working on the project for the past three years, gaining investors and filling out the necessary forms to gain access to land between the Deer Lake Regional Airport and Junction Brook along the Trans-Canada Highway.
Simmons said he was surprised that the ill-fated Sprung greenhouse project is still in the minds of politicians in St. John’s when it comes to starting up similar projects.
“That’s still a major issue for them — it’s one of the biggest drawbacks I’m up against,” said Simmons. “That’s why I’ve done my homework and picked the part of the province with the most sunlight.”
The Sprung greenhouses came to Mount Pearl in 1987 when then-Premier Brian Peckford struck a deal with the Calgary company to build hydroponic greenhouses in the area to grow cucumbers. The initiative went into receivership two years later.
“Putting a greenhouse in Mount Pearl, that’s probably one of the worst environments in North America for growing anything,” said Simmons.
He said hydroponic methods will take up a small portion of the project, but far from the extent of the East coast project. There will be more diversification of product as well, growing not just cucumbers, but lettuce, peppers and tomatoes.
When the project is up and running, Simmons said it should employ between 40-50 workers. He expects to hear about land permission in the next few weeks and he hopes to have the project started by next year.
Source: thewesternstar.com





Announcements
Job Offers
"Tweeting Growers"
Top 5 -yesterday
- UK: Grower reduces greenhouse temperature by more than 6°C during heatwave with no cooling, fog systems
- Understanding the profitability of your greenhouse
- Agave: The new drought-tolerant California crop?
- Patromex and DIDIHU partnership invests in modern plant for value-added coconut substrates
- US: Larry Ellison is feeding Hawaii from his high-tech hydroponic farm on Lanai
Top 5 -last month
- Vertical farming technologies tool in researching and fighting diseases
- German retailer Kaufland and horti-family Reichenspurner open new greenhouse
- "Water is the new gold"
- Growing strawberries from seeds becoming increasingly popular
- Higher productivity and earliness are the story behind these pink greenhouses
Receive the daily newsletter in your email for free | Click here
Other news in this sector:
- 2022-08-12 US: Larry Ellison is feeding Hawaii from his high-tech hydroponic farm on Lanai
- 2022-08-12 Technology upgrades and a brand refresh for Australian strawberry producer
- 2022-08-12 Special restaurant experience: 3D visualization of the food's journey to your plate
- 2022-08-11 James, Jack and the 13 feet cucumber plant
- 2022-08-10 UK: "Now into its 16th season, this site is still extremely efficient"
- 2022-08-09 How Singapore is turning multi-story car parks into farms
- 2022-08-09 Italy: New 2 hectare project makes products available all year round
- 2022-08-09 Dutch Berries: 20 hectares of high-tech strawberry cultivation
- 2022-08-08 Japanese strawberry grower increases production thanks to hanging kit
- 2022-08-08 IE: Boyne Valley community greenhouses helping to feed the hungry
- 2022-08-08 NZ: Downsizing crops, but passion for tomatoes remains strong
- 2022-07-22 Belgium: "In comparison to last year, we’ve doubled production, as well as our revenue"
- 2022-07-22 China: New demand for leafy vegetables brings opportunity to the industry
- 2022-07-21 China: Looking into a 73 hectare greenhouse park
- 2022-07-19 How plants are cooling greenhouses during the heatwave
- 2022-07-14 US (NY): Food trends are driving the demand for specialty mushrooms
- 2022-07-12 German retailer Kaufland and horti-family Reichenspurner open new greenhouse
- 2022-07-11 "New farms start operating by the end of the year"
- 2022-07-07 "Once you have fought temperatures above 35°C for strawberries, leafy greens aren't very daunting"
- 2022-07-05 Founder of Fairtrasa opens up during podcast about being kidnapped by Mexican gangsters