Social Enterprise AgriFood Social Media Manager

As a new business, AgriTech North is seeking a social media manager that can take control of our social media posts, feedback, and overall strategic plan. As a social enterprise, we want to ensure the public is engaging with the accomplishment of our social mission: lowering fresh produce costs in Far North Indigenous communities by 25% and increase access to fresh produce in those communities year-round. Will you help us achieve this goal?

Social Enterprise AgriFood New Human Resources Materials

As a new business, AgriTech North is seeking assistance with generating human resources materials to onboard, retain , and keep staff safe. We need a firm understanding of our obligations and commitments to our staff, and what materials we need to provide to ensure they are ready for work with us. We also need to know what workplace notice postings need to be made available, and begin drafting specific training documents, Standard Operating Procedures, and safety documents that must be stored in print on-site. We have prior ACCES Employment Human Resources contributions to build upon. As the organization grows, a permanent human resources position will eventually become available.

Agri-Food Social Enterprise Greenhouse Lighting Product Development

Greenhouse Lighting makes up more than half the cost of a year-round Far North greenhouse facility that grows food. As such, our organization is seeking to develop an effective solution for our greenhouses to ensure we can reduce cost by developing and assembling in-house. We need to develop an appropriate electrical / electronics / mechanical design for the proposed luminaires, which can be completed in multiple course scopes. We are looking to work with students in engineering to create these design proposals.

Agri-Food Social Enterprise Environmental Commitments

AgriTech North is a start-up seeking to conform to five Environmental Commitments outlined in Appendix F of the following government procurement outline: https://buyandsell.gc.ca/cds/public/2021/09/15/fa9cea7d4c12562bdba4b8c07a4bc848/ABES.PROD.PW_KIN.B950.E8467.EBSU000.PDF There are a total of five environmental commitments that need to be analyzed, and appropriate methods of conforming to these commitments are to be identified, budgeted, and planned relate to operational timelines. This can be delivered in a detailed report.

Social Enterprise AgriFood Market Analysis

Northern Ontario is a particularly difficult region to quantify the agrifood industry because there is a lack of public data sources between Winnipeg, MB and Ottawa, ON. As a result, AgriTech North has collected datasets from major city centers from public data publishers, and has obtained reports from private agencies that provide Canada-wide market analysis. The challenge being proposed is establishing statistical methods to predict the agrifood market in Northern Ontario utilizing public data sources (and provided private data sources), with an expressed lack of data within the region the market is being quantified. The resulting analyses and visualizations need to be sound to pass through the adjudication processes of public funding agencies and private banking institutions.

Social Enterprise AgriFood Software Development

AgriTech North, in collaboration with The 807 Food Co-op (non-profit), is seeking to customize the Open Food Network (OFN) open-source software to meet the needs of a new food box subscription program that is difficult to achieve with current OFN functionality. This food box program is aimed at providing locally produced foods throughout Northern Ontario. The Open Food Network is a global network of people and organizations working together to build a new food system. Together, we develop open and shared resources, knowledge and software to support a better food system. OFN believes a sustainable and resilient food system needs to reconnect producers and consumers. OFN aims to empower people and communities and give them the tools and knowledge to develop the food systems they need for their community. The OFN flagship project is an open source software platform that makes it easy to create innovative, independent, community food enterprises. The software can be used by farmers setting up their own online stores, but it’s designed to help farmers collaborate and sell together, to create thriving, viable enterprises. People have used the power of this feature to create food collectives, manage food hubs, to take their farmers’ market online with pre-purchases to give stallholders more secure sales, and more. The OFN community has decades of experience in running innovative food enterprises with social and ecological aims. We know that good food can transform our planet and our society. OFN also knows that making values-driven food enterprise work takes commitment, perseverance, partnerships and support. The OFN community want to help you to make values-driven food enterprises thrive!

Agri-Food Social Enterprise Food Packaging and Quality Control

Help ensure our start-up social enterprise qualifies for CanadaGAP and CFIA certifications to sell to Grocery Stores within Ontario and across the country by assessing the requirements and assessing current AgriTech North vertical farm operations to identify what SOPs and equipment needs to be in place to ensure we pass inspection and can tackle a wider variety of food security issues across the region.

Social Enterprise AgriFood Business OHS&W Policies

Establish an agri-food start-up company's Occupational Health, Safety, and Wellness documentation and training procedures. The facility will be located within an industrial mill, and contains vertical farming equipment and supplies. The presence of the facility within an industrial mill adds some complexity to the project, since there may by mill requirements above and beyond a typical agri-food business.

Innovative Greenhouse Horticultural Lighting

There is a significant gap in the horticultural lighting market. Luminaires are often too large, blocking sunlight and increasing operational costs, or lack spectral control and thus locking your facility into a single crop offering. AgriTech North intends to develop a novel greenhouse horticultural luminaire that is low-profile, incorporates standardized controls, and has multiple peak wavelength LEDs to enable a variety of crops and states of growth within the same facility. This functionality also enables improvements over time, as we conduct research during regular operations. The proposed luminaire presents a number of challenges. One cannot make a low-profile luminaire that is low power, because then the increased quantity of luminaires results in just as much shadowing of the sun as a larger single luminaire. Instead, thermal engineering needs to ensure a high-power low-profile luminaire can stay cool, and thus efficient. Thermal management strategies may involve active convection or water-cooling, for example. In addition, generally horticultural luminaires utilize 0-10VDC as a control signal, which has voltage drop over long greenhouse distances and is not standardized, resulting in inconsistent lighting conditions and an inability to dim to low lighting levels. The high-power luminaire would generally require a large driver, so there are a variety of considerations around electrical component specifications and location that directly impact the overall system design. Lastly, greenhouses are generally hot and humid environments, so the luminaire will need to be resistant to condensation and ideally, can withstand pressure washing which would enable quick and easy maintenance of the lens surface, which would otherwise become dusty, reduce output, and thus reduce yield. Since there are clearly both Electrical and Mechanical challenges present, up to two positions are available, but only one Mechanical and one Electrical.

Social Enterprise AgriFood Grow Strategy

Identify the appropriate genetics for plants intended to be grown in vertical farm and greenhouse environments, in a soil-less grow strategy (aeroponics or hydroponics). Identify near-term and long-term opportunities to develop grow strategies to provide a complete diet to Northern Ontario residents year-round.

Social Enterprise AgriFood New Human Resources Materials

As a new business, AgriTech North is seeking assistance with generating human resources materials to onboard, retain , and keep staff safe. We need a firm understanding of our obligations and commitments to our staff, and what materials we need to provide to ensure they are ready for work with us. We also need to know what workplace notice postings need to be made available, and begin drafting specific training documents, Standard Operating Procedures, and safety documents that must be stored in print on-site. We have prior ACCES Employment Human Resources contributions to build upon. As the organization grows, a permanent human resources position will eventually become available.

Social Enterprise AgriFood Business Planning

We are entering the business planning and market research stages of our business. We have other contractors that will be collecting data and submitting it for incorporation into the full business plan. We can review their scope and adjust according to the agreed upon scope with your project. The intention is to assess the submissions of the contractors, identify gaps, and provide suggestions on how to fill those gaps. Of primary importance is the overall analysis of business strategy following acquisition of the data from the contractors, and how this is presented in our business plan for funding agencies and collaborators.

Food Distribution Chain Management in Northern Ontario

There is no hard data for food distribution between Winnipeg, Manitoba and Ottawa, Ontario, that we have found thus far. We are about to enter into a business planning phase to generate multiple sources of data from vendors and distributors within Northern Ontario. There are significant quantities of reports conducted, however, on surveys and overall industry assessments. Distribution throughout Northern Ontario remains the primary challenge to ensuring our organization meets its social mission of increasing access of Far North communities to fresh produce, and lowering cost of produce in the Far North by at least 25%. We need a firm understanding of distribution chain issues and establish a solid plan to achieve our goal. We are in the process of establishing a non-profit food hub in the same facility we are growing produce, which would expand the available goods from just produce grown in vertical farms and greenhouses, to prepared foods and meat products, which may be advantageous to the distribution strategy since we will then more likely be able to ship full trucks and/or planes.

Food Hub Development, Engineering Management

We are working with Domtar Paper Mill in Dryden, Ontario to establish a new food hub that includes indoor vertical farming, a new outdoor greenhouse, commercial vendors, food preparers, and a non-profit food distribution hub. The old sawmill building (picture included indicating site) needs extensive renovations to be made suitable for an agricultural and commercial venture. In addition, the facility will be integrated with the Domtar Paper Mill to harvest waste heat, power, and carbon, establishing a first-of-its-kind carbon negative indoor farming operation. The integration with the Mill's combined heat and power (CHP) steam turbine generator will be a complex challenge on its own. Since we are converting to a commercial venture, improving the aesthetics of the site will be necessary, as the City of Dryden wishes to establish this as an AgriTourism location.

Social Enterprise AgriFood Marketing Strategy Development

The following scope is being requested to integrate into the organization's business planning and long-term strategy prior to growing the produce. The organization is open to modifying its business plan, such as crops to be grown, based on suggestions that are made in the report. Marketing strategy development: Develop a new marketing strategy for a new social enterprise that intends to sell fresh grown produce from Northern Ontario that has been grown in a greenhouse or vertical farm. Marketing Mix strategy: Provide insight and recommend sustainable strategies related to the Marketing Mix (Product, Place, Price and Promotion). Conduct external analysis (including customer, competitor, market and environment) as well as marketing mix performance. Develop an integrated online/offline communication strategy.

Social Enterprise Legal Documents

Draft Non-disclosure agreement (NDA) template(s). Draft employment agreements for interns, full-time employees, part-time employees, and contractors. Risk assessment.

Virtual: Social Enterprise Fundraising

Our organization is able to offer a virtual internship opportunity for 2 students or teams. The primary focus for the student will be: Strategy - Develop a strategy for applying to multiple funding opportunities, their timing, and their expected outcome on revenue generation. Funding Acquisition - Develop thorough funding proposals utilizing core content provided by the CEO and building upon it. Finance - Determine project eligible/ineligible costs and identify gaps in funding and areas needing attention to assist the organization in ensuring it can maintain profitability while pursuing research and development tracks simultaneously with regular indoor farming operations. Our goal at the end of this experience is: For the student(s) to help us generate content for funding applications, and improve our business plan by leveraging the new content generated for applying to the most appropriate funding opportunities for our various organizational strategies. Other duties the student may complete could include : Conduct research and data analysis. Generate summary reports of research results. Create presentation decks and assist with presentations to key stakeholders. We will plan to communicate with our virtual intern using these communication tools: E-mail Telephone Conference Calls Student's primary contact : Benjamin Feagin Jr., MSc, CEO

Virtual: Advanced Manufacturing Innovations for Indoor Farming

Advanced manufacturing, a term that describes using equipment such as 3D Printers, allows individuals and organizations to print any object that can fit within the size of the printer. From tools, to plumbing, to enclosures, to plant media structures that enable more effective nutrient and water delivery which can enhance yield of the plants. While printing standard components will be made possible, the latter plant media structures will be the primary focus of this project; to enhance the structure in which the plant and/or growing media is located throughout the life cycle of the plant, with the specific intention of increasing annual yield. Lack of access to parts in remote communities in particular can delay production of a portion of, or the entire indoor farm, so establishing a ubiquitous capability in remote communities to produce their own parts and materials on-the-fly will have a strong impact on indoor farming system reliability, operational costs, and consistent high quality yield of food from for north community investments in agricultural technology. The plant media structures will increase the contact that water, nutrients, and air have with the root system, which has been shown to increase yield when compared to conventional farming.6 Improving on prior aeroponics systems, a better planting media structure will make more root surface area accessible to aeroponics nozzles distributing water and nutrients to the roots via a fog or mist. 3D printing excels at generating parts that have shapes that are impossible to produce any other way. Other manufacturing methods force very simple designs or solutions to problems, which are not sufficient to solve the problem of plant media structures to ensure roots are getting as much exposure to water, nutrients, and air as necessary to support a plant’s improved yield. A decrease in time for transplant readiness by approximately one-third is also expected, which enables five to six crop cycles a year (indoor aeroponics year-round) instead of just one or two (conventional farming). We intend to improve the quality of seedling readiness for transplant with a new seedling media structure that we develop for printing on a 3D printer. Specific defined scope: Choose a focus prototype, such as the plant media structure or the atomizer. Propose 2-3 different potential solutions either as sketches or draft models. Refine the model and prepare for printing. Work with your institute to complete a print and either test in-house or ship to AgriTech North for testing. All additional costs of the printing process or utilization of Additive Manufacturing Lab time will be covered by AgriTech North.