Canada’s northern communities are able to grow fresh, local produce with consistent yields year-round through Canadian-designed agricultural innovation.
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LearningTranscript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 I'm part of a new generation
00:04 that is working on sustainable changes,
00:07 improving the local food system.
00:09 But, you know, we built everything
00:11 on the shoulders of giants.
00:12 We're adding our own piece and we're making it unique,
00:15 but we can't take all the credit.
00:16 We have to acknowledge a lot of very smart people
00:19 who worked very hard for like a thousand plus years.
00:23 (upbeat music)
00:29 My name's Tadik Vosjvar.
00:30 I'm the CEO of Coldacre Food Systems.
00:33 We are in Whitehorse, Yukon.
00:34 We have consistent yields week after week,
00:42 which is different from traditional agriculture.
00:44 And this means that we can really plan for labor
00:47 and for our sales and make a very consistent
00:51 1000 pounds every single week.
00:58 Our customers are typically Yukoners
01:01 who really appreciate fresh food, fresh greens,
01:03 and things that were produced
01:05 within a hundred kilometers mostly.
01:08 I'd say that for the restaurant side of things,
01:11 the fact that it's being harvested the day
01:13 that we deliver it, I think makes a large difference.
01:16 Our largest customer base
01:21 is usually First Nation communities.
01:24 They'll often buy a system or want to work with us
01:28 in order to land a food system within their community,
01:30 to increase the sustainability of their community,
01:33 increase job opportunities,
01:35 and overall contribute to something local.
01:37 In 2021, we built a unit that went to Inuvik
01:43 in the Northwest Territories.
01:44 Now they are producing greens all year round
01:47 in a place that was very far removed
01:49 from anywhere that could produce greens.
01:56 We're trying to look at the entire food systems
01:58 for our community, not just one aspect.
02:02 So when we design a food system for another community,
02:04 we'll think about the size of the community
02:06 and what their goals are.
02:07 And we'll size a system to make it
02:09 so that they can effectively feed their community,
02:11 but not overproduce.
02:12 When they buy a food system and deploy it into a community,
02:16 we'll bring whoever's gonna operate it into Coldacre,
02:19 and they'll work on our farm for two weeks
02:22 or however long it takes for them to get comfortable
02:24 so they know that they can operate their farm
02:26 efficiently and effectively.
02:28 We're proud to say that almost everything
02:34 that comes out of our facility
02:36 will be compostable in a proper facility.
02:39 When you get a containerized hydroponic system
02:41 like ourselves, we don't have to clear out
02:44 a big section of land.
02:45 In addition, the food is produced here.
02:47 It doesn't need to be trucked in.
02:49 We have organic waste, a bit of heat waste,
02:52 and then we have a very, very small amount of water waste.
02:57 Most of the water that gets pulled out of our systems
02:59 comes out in our plants.
03:01 We just have to flush out our reservoirs
03:03 once every month or once every two months
03:05 just to give them a nice clean,
03:07 and other than that, we're not really having any waste.
03:10 It's all being consumed.
03:11 (upbeat music)
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03:24 [BLANK_AUDIO]