Growers David Théorêt and Marie-Pierre Gauthier got hooked on farming after they started doing so to show their 5 children where the products they ate, came from. Ever since, have made it their mission to be not only self-sufficient but also to benefit the community, resulting in their organic farm Le Petit Brûlé Ecological Farm in Rigaud, Quebec, Canada.
With the newly announced greenhouse, they will be able to feed another 1000 families in the area. And since they know the value of producing locally, they also knew for sure they wanted a local greenhouse supplier: Harnois. It's the first project under their newly launched Vermax brand.
Le Petit Brûlé
The greenhouse project of Le Petit Brûlé was announced in January and the greenhouse is supposed to be ready by spring. With a surface area of 3969 m2, the installation will allow the production of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and leafy vegetables, 12 months a year, and following organic standards. With this farm, the growers hope to supply over 1,000 baskets of organic products to consumers nearby.
Glass greenhouse
The greenhouse will be 100% manufactured in Quebec by Les Industries Harnois at the request of the couple, who wanted a local product. It will be the first glass greenhouse Harnois delivers to this area. The greenhouse will be realised under the Vermax brand of glass greenhouses, which was launched last year.
The growers will utilise the smart LED grow lights of another Canadian company to produce throughout the year: Sollum. Thanks to the multi-zone light management capabilities of this lighting solution, multiple light recipes will be applied simultaneously to optimize the lighting of each individual crop.
Source : Ministre de l’agriculture, des pêcheries et de l’alimentation, André Lamontagne – député de Johnson.
Greater food autonomy
The $6 million CAN investment is supported by the Mouvement Desjardins, Investissement Québec and also the government chips in $1.4M CAN.
This subsidy is part of the movement to get Quebec a greater food autonomy. "That means having more products 'Made in Quebec', Prime Minister Francois Legault said when launching the plans.
To get closer to this goal, growers aimed to double their production of fruits and vegetables in greenhouses to nearly 250 hectares, or 350 soccer fields, with the help of the State. Ever since, the Ministry has received over 300 small and medium sized project plans. According to minister Andre Lamontagne, the smaller producers play a big role in the local, year round, supplies and they should be supported by the government.
For more information:
Vermax
1044 rue Principale
St-Thomas, Québec, Canada, J0K 3L0
(CA/US): 1 844 783-7629
info@vermaxghs.com
https://www.vermaxgreenhousesolutions.com/