Research at Olds College of Agriculture & Technology will build on Canada’s reputation as one of the world’s leaders in a revolutionary type of farming that uses automation to grow crops indoors without soil or sunlight.
“We know controlled environment agriculture is only going to get bigger, and we’re just at the tip of the iceberg for this industry,” said Eric Lang, president of ZipGrow, Inc. “This research program gives Olds College, and everyone involved in this technology, an opportunity to help decide what this industry will look like in the future.”
The Canadian company has developed precision technology that enables indoor farming by using computers and automation to control everything from temperature to humidity, optimizing plant growth. This allows seasonal crops like strawberries and peppers to be grown locally year-round, even during Canadian winters.
Although research has begun with ZipGrow, Olds College also plans to work with other industry clients as part of a program for controlled environment agriculture, potentially studying everything from improving energy efficiency to examining the use of artificial intelligence to optimize growing crops indoors.
“Olds College will be a sand box for future research,” said Ken Miller, Manager Projects, Saskatchewan Smart Farm Operations & Controlled Environment Agriculture. “The vision is that there could be multiple units with different brands and manufacturers on campus where we could demonstrate and test these different systems and technologies.”
Miller said the current focus of Canadian consumers is food security due to tariffs and the U.S. trade war, but there is an even bigger challenge many people don’t realize.
Produce from countries like the U.S. or Mexico can take days, even weeks, to reach Canadian tables, resulting in food that often has a less vibrant taste and reduced nutritional quality. “Especially in northern climates, the ability to grow produce 365 days a year in a controlled environment provides not only a stable food supply, but also higher quality food and a richer product,” said Miller.
“Some of the work that Olds College will be doing with clients in 2025 is evaluating the nutrient density of different varieties of plants for the highest quality. This will enable producers and local communities to optimize health benefits of locally produced food.”
Lang said Canada is a close second only to the Netherlands in the development of controlled environment agriculture. Canadians must seize the lead by creating and improving technologies for this type of farming, along with developing seeds for new varieties of crops specially bred for it, he said.
It could open new economic opportunities that could help reduce Canada’s dependence on the U.S., said Lang. For example, it could partially benefit Canada’s seed industry, which is valued at $6 billion annually and supports more than 63,000 direct and indirect jobs
More importantly, Canadians could capture some of the billions of dollars spent on produce imported from the U.S. It totaled about $3.45 billion US in 2024 for edible vegetables as well as certain roots and tubers, with lettuce earning $530.4 million and strawberries $478.6 million.
Lang said controlled environment agriculture could attract urban youths who want to learn about cutting-edge technology. It could also help farm families keep younger generations in the agriculture industry.
He pointed to a producer in Saskatchewan who bought a ZipPod to keep his daughter on the farm. “We shouldn’t be differentiating between traditional Prairie farming and this type of agriculture. It’s still farming.”
Research at Olds College will be initially conducted in a ZipPod, which is an insulated steel structure that resembles a rectangular shipping container known as a sea can. It was prefabricated by ZipGrow in Cornwall, Ont., and shipped to the campus as a fully functional hydroponic farm.
It houses ZipGrow’s vertical farming system, which has also been used in warehouse-sized facilities and greenhouses. Crops are raised in 240 tube-shaped hydroponic towers that are eight-feet tall.
They collectively provide more than 3,800 sites for plants to promote the most efficient use of available space while dispensing with the need for soil, said Miller. “This is a closed hydroponic system, which basically mixes up batches of water with nutrients and feeds the plants through drip irrigation, so it’s a very efficient system for growing food.”
LED lights give farmers the ability to not only dim or brighten the intensity of light, but to also tailor the spectrum into different colours, such as blue or red, to promote specific types of desired plant growth.
They can also be timed to turn on during parts of the day when electricity is less expensive, said Lang. “It means you’re no longer constricted by the need for overhead sunlight.”
Although lettuce has the highest demand by consumers, Lang said farmers are drastically limiting themselves by focusing on leafy greens. “You can grow herbs, such as basil. You can grow fruiting crops, such as strawberries and peppers. We’ve grown cabbages,” he said.
“We’ve even grown sunflowers and tobacco in our towers. The sunflowers were 10-feet tall, growing out of a four-inch-by-four-inch square tube. We can grow almost anything, but it doesn’t always make economic sense to do it.”
As part of its research program, Olds College will be studying how to optimize this growing system for additional crops beyond leafy greens, which could include tomatoes and strawberries.
Miller said there are also goals in the future to offer an opportunity for students to be directly involved or conduct research through academic programs. Olds College launched Canada’s first Indoor Agriculture Certificate program in 2025 through the Industry Training and Continuing Education department.
It will meet industry demands for skilled professionals in controlled environment agriculture by providing training in plant production techniques, technologies and business practices. Research and training at Olds College have arrived during an era of soaring prices at Canadian grocery stores that are being heightened by the U.S. trade war, along with a Canadian boycott of American products.
“People are starting to realize they can no longer just assume they can buy leafy greens or produce any time they want that comes in from California or Arizona,” said Lang. “The need for food that can be grown year-round here in Canada is changing our entire industry, and it’s pushing ahead very quickly.”