Can technology help alleviate labour and climate challenges facing Northern Ontario’s horticultural sector? That’s the question the Northern Ontario Farm Innovation Alliance (NOFIA) set out to answer during a year-long research project in conjunction with the Vineland Research & Innovation Centre.
Horticulture is a niche area within Northern Ontario’s agriculture industry, largely because of the limitations presented by climate and labour, according to Daniel Bath, a research scientist in horticultural innovation at the St. Catharines-based research centre.
“Generally, there’s not much horticulture happening relative to the rest of the agriculture activities, because it’s cold here,” Bath said. “There are many reasons, of course, but that’s the big one.”
Bath presented the findings of the NOFIA-Vineland research study during the two-day Northern Ontario Ag Conference, hosted by NOFIA in Sudbury, February 15-16 at the Holiday Inn.
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