$6.6M project to boost greenhouse vegetable research

Brooks, AB – Alberta’s government says that the province’s agricultural research and greenhouse sectors will soon be enhanced with the rebuilding of the outdated greenhouse facilities at the provincial Crop Diversification Centre South in Brooks.

The new $6.6-million greenhouses will be multi-functional, accommodate additional research opportunities and further strengthen the leadership role that centre plays in conducting crop production and protection research for Alberta’s greenhouse industry. The reconstruction will allow other crop scientists at CDCS, who are currently short of general-purpose greenhouse space, to extend their research activities beyond the summer field season through the winter months.

“The reconstruction of these greenhouses is part of our continued commitment to research and innovation in our agriculture industry,” says Doug Horner, minister of agriculture food and rural development. “These new facilities will allow researchers at the CDCS to continue to explore new crops and crop management techniques to help Alberta producers be competitive in the global market.”

Some of the original research greenhouses at CDCS were constructed in 1965. Years of moisture, corrosion, and stress from heat and wind have contributed to structural decay. The old facilities will be torn down and several new greenhouses, totaling nearly 55,000 sq ft, will replace them. The new greenhouses will house small-scale applied research projects, large production ranges that simulate conditions in a commercial greenhouse operation, and administrative offices and labs.

The CDCS currently employs 40 full-time and 20 part-time staff, and the centre says it expects to hire as many as five additional full- and part-time employees once reconstruction is complete. Specialists at the research greenhouse currently focus their studies on pest control and plant diseases. Greenhouse scientists at the centre are currently focusing their studies in areas such as crop production technology, pest management and aquaponics-the integration of aquaculture (fish production) and hydroponics (vegetable production).

Design work is tentatively scheduled to begin by the end of the summer, and construction will last approximately 12 months.