Vertical farming offers the prospect of strawberry fields forever, B.C. farmer says

After dealing with bouts of severe weather, a farmer in B.C.'s Fraser Valley says he and his family are looking at vertical farming to grow strawberries. 

Recent years have seen a heat dome and flooding, says Amir Maan of Maan Farms in Abbotsford, B.C. That's had an impact on crops.

"We're growing 25, almost 30 acres of strawberries outdoors, but we're only harvesting 10 acres' worth because of all the loss," he said. 

Those losses led to discussions with his father about the future of the family farm.

Last year, Maan's family invested in a vertical greenhouse to shift 10 acres of strawberries — an area the size of almost eight football fields — indoors.

"Weather is the one thing that you can't control, and as a farmer, being able to control it with the greenhouse indoors is the closest thing you can do to make sure you have a reliable crop for your community," Maan said. 

In vertical farming, shelves of crops are stacked atop one another, so much less land is needed than in traditional farming.

Depending on the facility, different environmental factors such as light, humidity and temperature can be controlled so there is considerably less chance of crop failure. 

Some of the more than 150 agritech companies in B.C. are already growing microgreens, leafy greens and herbs vertically.

Strawberries, which are harder to grow than things like lettuce, are "the next frontier," says Lenore Newman, director of the Food and Agriculture Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley.

"They're really the next big crop, and then other berries will probably follow because they're very high value and people want them," Newman said.

Maan says he would like to see other farms in the Fraser Valley join him.

The biggest barrier, he said, is startup costs.

In his case, he says the investment has been worth it as it has allowed his family to continue farming.

"It's not ... just the economics. It's also about growing strawberries in the Fraser Valley, and that's what we love to do," he said.

 It could also be a win for the planet, he says, as locally grown strawberries lead to fewer emissions than importing the fruit. 

"I think that's the most important thing is that we're able to still grow local food and not depend on large corporations and importing as much."