ALBERTA BEEF PRODUCERS GETS ITS CHECKOFF WISH
CONSERVATIVE PUNDIT MAKES THE CASE FOR A CARBON TAX
But crop commissions plan to stick with the voluntary version of the levy » PG 3
Done right, a carbon levy is the ideal freemarket solution, says Andrew Coyne » PG 3 Publications Mail Agreement # 40069240
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GROWING UP: Vertical farming comes of age Growing food without sunlight or soil is now a reality, but the economics leave little room for error BY JENNIFER BLAIR AF Staff / Olds
The solar power math is starting to add up A steep drop in solar prices is giving a new meaning to ‘green’ power — and giving Alberta farmers a way to cut energy costs
O
lds-area greenhouse operator Wayne Lohr and business partner Ulf Geerds are dreaming big — they want to grow an acre of strawberries. That may not sound like a big deal until you consider that acre will take up just 360 square feet and produce strawberries year round. And even though they’re grown in racks on a shed, these berries will, the duo says, taste just as good as ones picked fresh
see VERTICAL FARMING }page 6
Cattle grazer Steve Kenyon and wife Amber Kenyon have gone almost completely off-grid with a solar system purchased on the online classified site Kijiji. PHOTO: Supplied BY JENNIFER BLAIR AF staff / Okotoks
C
ory Nelson isn’t what you might call a ‘tree hugger.’ But the Grassy Lake-area farmer is a businessman, and to him, solar energy just makes good financial sense. “We view it as an investment,” said Nel-
son, who grows a variety of crops under irrigation on his southern Alberta farm. “Our best math said it was going to take around 15 years to pay back. After that, we think we’ll probably get another 20 or 25 years of benefit from it. At that time, we think we’ll be making pretty decent money on that investment. “If I buy a piece of land, it’s typically going to take a long time to pay it back as
well. We don’t mind viewing things in the long term.” Nelson was looking for ways to stabilize his irrigation pumping costs last year, and solar panels seemed like “a novel idea.” Last spring, he started the process of installing solar panels on two pieces of his land — one system with a capacity of
see SOLAR POWER }page 7
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