As the country rapidly warms from human-caused climate change, farmers are being pushed to reconsider conventional wisdom about what can and can't survive in this northern climate.
But when Matthew Roy moved from New Hampshire to begin farming in Nova Scotia in 2020, he identified saffron as a promising crop, in part because of the changing climate and saffron's short growing season. Bashir Ahmad Allie, head of the saffron research station at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology in India, is not surprised that parts of Canada are able to cultivate saffron, considering how climate is changing across the globe. The spice is now grown in parts of Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia.
"Even though they're planted in September, they get big enough to be able to overwinter under the snow," she says."What's left over once they crush it is really, really high-quality livestock feed," she said. Canada's typical blueberry season runs from July to September, with consumers relying on imports for non-frozen berries throughout the winter.
The process is an example of "vertical farming," where plants are positioned in rows on shelves stacked on top of each other, Mattsson says. Mattsson adds that BeriTech is interested in exploring how the research on blueberries could be applied to other crops, such as raspberries and blackberries.Dean Sopher says he's pessimistic about the world's future.
Concerned about worsening food quality and inflation, Sopher says he built his greenhouse about three years ago and harvested his first banana crop in December. He says the roughly $60,000 greenhouse was designed to optimize the heat and light from the sun. In a scientific literature review, researchers at the University of Alberta found the Prairies have become hotter and drier over the last 120 years. There has also been less snowfall and more disruptive weather, the researchers found.