Rose Séguin: Lighting the Way for Greenhouse Farming in Canada
May 15, 2024 Agronomist Rose Séguin has been interested in plants and how they grow from an early age. Although she doesn’t come from an agricultural background, she always knew she wanted to pursue a career in the industry.
“I came into agriculture a little bit randomly,” she says. “I just figured that food was so fundamental and I was interested in the nuances of growing plants. I knew I wanted to get involved in the industry on both the consumer and production sides.”
Bringing CEA Up North
Rose Séguin | Photo: Sollum Technologies
Outdoor agriculture is a booming industry in Quebec, where Séguin is originally from. But recently, she’s noticed how unpredictable weather and pest pressures have made greenhouses a more popular option. “When you’re used to doing outdoor farming, you come to accept that you’re limited in how you can respond to harsh conditions,” she says. “But in greenhouses, you can control [your growing conditions] in such a big space. Seeing the technology developing for greenhouses really piqued my interest.”
During her years as an undergrad at McGill University, Séguin studied agronomy and global food security. Once she earned her Bachelor’s degree, she explored food production beyond central Quebec and into the northern parts of Canada. She was particularly interested in remote areas that face logistical issues during the winter months.
“In the winter, you usually hear about road closures up north,” she says. “I started thinking about getting greenhouses up there and ended up doing my Master’s on that specifically.”
Her first project was with an existing community greenhouse in northern Quebec called Chisasibi, which aimed to improve food production in remote parts of the country. It was the first greenhouse initiative she found up north, and she soon learned about similar projects around the area. Séguin then started to consider different types of food production, and why some methods are explored more than others in rural areas.
“Logistically, there isn’t a lot of access to materials for production up [in northern Canada],” she says. “So, when you’re trying to plan a project, you have to think about transportation and logistics you normally don’t worry about down south…The timing of the projects becomes really important because the growing season is also the construction season. By the time you receive the material and build the facility, your growing season may be over.”
In addition to logistics and transportation hindering production, Séguin noticed how greenhouse farming wasn’t widely practiced in northern Canada. This shifted her focus from the physical technology that affects food production to the social, economic and political aspects of it. “There are a lot of things that slowed down production in the area,” she says. “It really became a question of social acceptance and economics. The whole premise of CEA is that you can do it essentially anywhere with the right technology. This is true, but tech companies often lack the socioeconomic and even political context that can sink a project. Even the most well intentioned and tech-forward projects aren’t guaranteed to work.”
Greenhouse Strawberries Grown Using Lighting Solutions From Sollum Technologies | Photo: Sollum Technologies
Forming Personal Relationships With Growers
Séguin is now an agronomist for Sollum Technologies, an LED grow light manufacturer in Montreal, where she creates lighting strategies for growers in greenhouses. She works with both small growers and large commercial businesses to address issues impeding efficient production. “I’m basically supporting growers and helping them integrate dynamic lighting protocols into their growing strategies,” she says. “I help them use horticultural lighting in a way that makes sense for their operation.”
In her role as an agronomist, Séguin works closely with growers to further understand their operations. She speaks with her clients regularly to ensure the lighting solutions they’ve developed still suit their specific needs, which can vary depending on size, crop, location, budget and other factors.
“I have close relationships with our growers and create custom solutions for their operations,” she says. “I can’t offer the same strategy for a 20-acre greenhouse in Ontario that I [do] for a small greenhouse in northern Quebec. We can’t just copy and paste for different clients.”
While Séguin provides lighting solutions for both commercial businesses and small growers, her main goal is to strengthen the CEA industry as a whole. She may have gotten into agriculture “randomly,” but she continues to move the industry forward through advanced lighting protocols. As a result, dynamic LED lighting in greenhouses are becoming more commonplace and year-round, energy efficient growing has a stronger presence in Canada.