Yukon agriculture conference aims to improve northern greenhouses

Only two per cent of the food eaten in Yukon is grown locally, but this week in Whitehorse, scientists, engineers and interested gardeners are looking to increase that number. 

Delegates at Innovation in Cold Climate Greenhouses, a conference that began Tuesday, are looking at recent inventions and experiments with automation, LEDs, insulation and computer-modelled architecture to maximize the retention of the sun.

One of the projects being examined is an experimental greenhouse at Yukon College in Whitehorse, which may allow gardeners to work year-round.

Stephen Mooney is the director of the Cold Climate Innovation Centre, a research school based at the college, and says technology in the field of northern greenhouses is changing season-to-season.

"Our year-round greenhouse has been proven (to work) very well," he says. "What the data has proven is that anyone, using a few simple tricks, can add a month or two to the end of the growing season.

"The goal in the Yukon was previously six or seven months of growing. Now, we're looking at eight or nine months that we can stretch that growing season."  

This is the fifth annual agriculture conference in Whitehorse, according to Mooney. This year's focus is on northern greenhouses of all sizes.

"We're trying to answer questions that Yukoners will have about their backyards, all the way to commercial greenhouses or year-round grow operations," says Mooney. 

​Eirik Sharp also works with the Cold Climate Innovation Centre, and says that like many northerners, he knows how food supply can be interrupted by road closures — and how food can spoil on its way to store shelves.

"Greenhouses are a really effective way of dealing with that," he says. "We've got industry experts talking about LEDs and high tech automated vertical agricultural systems. We have some academics talking about modern construction techniques and high-efficiency buildings."

Reducing the cost of northern living

While this week's conference has a focus on greenhouses, one group of presenters has built an all-purpose tool to help northern farmers.

Hobbyists at Whitehorse's YuKonstruct have assembled a full-size tractor from open-source online plans.

The tractor can be shipped as a kit and is easy to repair, resembling an adult-sized Lego Technic toy set.

Tom Bamford is one of YuKonstruct's founders. He says the tractor cost about $14,000 in parts — far less than the cost of importing a commercial tractor.

"We've got the basic system now," he says. "It's going to go to a couple of farms across Yukon and they're going to see how they want to customize it.  

"The idea is to reduce the cost of northern living and make it more sustainable. It's easier to fix, easier to modify and easier to run in general."