Canada Provides $5 Million in Repayable Funding to Kinghaven Farms Automated Greenhouse

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 17, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada announced that it would provide $5 million in repayable funding through the AgriInnovate program to Kinghaven Farms Cultivation Limited in King City, Ontario, for the deployment of automation and climate control technologies at its new controlled environment agriculture greenhouse. The greenhouse, operated by Haven Greens under Kinghaven Farms, is designed to produce up to 2 million kilograms of baby leafy vegetables annually, and the funding is mainly used to introduce and customize a fully automated end-to-end growing system and environmental control equipment.

According to the funding agreement disclosed by the Government of Canada, the project is titled "Haven Greens New Hydroponic Greenhouse Operating System Implementation Project," with agreement number AIP-PAI-1628, the recipient being Kinghaven Farms Cultivation Limited, the agreement amount being $5 million, and the implementation period running from September 12, 2024, to December 31, 2036, with annual funding allocations and budget plans adjusted in March 2025. The project funding corresponds to the adoption and customization of automation and climate control systems, with the core facility being a new controlled environment agriculture greenhouse.

Phase one of the greenhouse covers approximately 2 hectares and uses a fully automated hydroponic production system, mainly growing baby leaf lettuce. The project is equipped with an end-to-end mobile growing trough system, in which the troughs can move within the greenhouse according to the crop growth stage, with the production process covering sowing, seedling raising, growing, and harvesting. The phase one plan previously announced by Kinghaven Farms includes a fully automated production system with minimal manual contact, and uses mobile growing troughs as the main facility configuration to reduce the traditional transplanting step.

Haven Greens' existing greenhouse covers approximately 5 acres and has achieved continuous year-round production capacity. In the operating data published in June 2026, the facility uses an automated hydroponic system from seed to harvest, with a daily harvest volume of approximately 12,000 pounds, equivalent to about 5.4 tonnes. Existing products include baby green leaf lettuce, red and green leaf lettuce mix, and spring mix baby leafy greens, and the production facility is also equipped with control systems for environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity.

Kinghaven Farms is also advancing a 1.99 MW ground-mounted photovoltaic project in the area adjacent to the greenhouse, intended to provide on-site electricity for the Haven Greens greenhouse. The project site is located at 12945 Concession Road 7 in King Township, and all planned power generation is to be used for the adjacent greenhouse, with no export to the public grid. The photovoltaic facility is currently undergoing Ontario's renewable energy approval process, and project document disclosure and a public meeting were held in July 2026.

This $5 million in funding corresponds to the deployment of automation and climate control systems at the already-built greenhouse and is not construction funding for a second new greenhouse. The target production capacity disclosed by the Government of Canada is up to 2 million kilograms of baby leafy vegetables per year, and the technical scope includes fully automated greenhouse production, mobile hydroponic growing troughs, and environmental control systems. Haven Greens has now entered the commercial production stage, and the greenhouse automation system continues to be implemented in accordance with the AgriInnovate project agreement.