A Pierson farm family that started into a specialized herb business, Real Garlic, now has added a second growing business – Real Greens.
Kendra and Mark Custance have partnered with Valleyview Consumers Co-op Ltd. to become owners of a Growcer unit. Branded as Real Greens they will grow lettuce for customers of Valleyview’s chain of food stores with a first crop of lettuce available in stores sometime in March.
The Custance family is excited about the project. “We love real food”! says Mark Custance.
Mark was raised in Central Alberta by entrepreneurial parents. The couple moved to Manitoba a few years ago with their two small children. Here, they’ve grown to a family of four children.
The business is a good fit in several ways. “Kendra grew up on a mixed grain and cattle farm in the Pierson area, I am an import from Alberta,” says Mark. “I have a business background mostly dealing with computers and security, but have always had a passion for great local food and the great people I met that produced it.”
With the couple’s background and their farm’s location, just 7 km east of Pierson, they’re taking advantage of a new but tested technology to produce greens close to the market. A Growcer unit resembles a rail shipping container, but it’s outfitted as a hydroponic greenhouse specially created with a light and watering system and air circulation, insulated for -40 or +40 year-round operation.
Real Greens, with a building footprint of 10 feet by 40 feet, is capable of producing 34,000 heads of lettuce annually, using 90 per cent less water than standard (soil) farming.
“We can grow lettuce, leafy greens, herbs, brassicas, some popular varieties such as Wildfire lettuce, arugula, Monte Carlo romaine, spinach, Red Russian kale, Collard greens, Asian greens, mustard greens, mint, parsley, Thai basil, cilantro, mountain sorrel and more,” says Custance. But to get started they plan to grow one specific lettuce crop.
“We are using a turn-key system developed by Canadian entrepreneurs built right here in Manitoba. Using a horizontal soil-less growing system.”
Although their experience as growers won’t directly translate to this new endeavour, Mark and Kendra have enjoyed success with their garlic business in the past year.
“We purchased Real Garlic from Greg & Jolene Thiessen of Oak Lake in the fall of 2022 and now have completed our first complete season of growing at our farm….”
They’re marketing garlic scapes (tightly closed buds on top of green stems) and cured garlic, as well as garlic powder to be used in Enjoy Real Spice blends, still sold by Jolene Thiessen. As of Jan. 12, Real Garlic had stocked Melita Co-op with bags of home-grown garlic. Facebook posts tell that locals appreciate the Real Garlic product: “Your garlic is fantastic!”
“The Garlic is grown in soil and does not use the same system we use for growing greens but they certainly will go great together on a plate,” says Custance.
They are prepared to learn the ropes and if they expand, to employ others. “The Growcer system we are using on our farm provides us the resources and the training to grow successfully, their ongoing support is key to helping us deliver the highest quality product to our customers.
“To start my wife and I will do all the training and the initial growing but as we grow, our plan is to train additional help."
THE PARTNERSHIP
With an eye for local business opportunities, Valleyview Co-op General Manager Greg Gill is excited about this innovative project to supply Valleyview’s food stores with fresh lettuce.
The Real Greens project is a rent-to-own agreement between Valleyview and the Custance business.
“We ventured into a 15-year agreement with them,” says Gill. “It’s been in the works for a few years. I was introduced to the [Growcer] idea in 2021 when I was doing my masters’ (business degree). So we started bouncing the idea around as a co-op as to how we could make this work.”
They were looking for a partner, someone to farm the project. The yearly Southwest Business and Entrepreneur Expo was where Gill connected with Mark Custance. They talked and the idea of a partnership began to take shape.
“I felt that it was a good opportunity to farm locally,” said Gill. “I really think it’s about consistency and reducing our carbon footprint. At the same time, it can protect us from some volatile pricing due to weather. It’s growing within a controlled environment and the other side of that is creating some employment and income within our trading area.”
While produce is shipped from around the world to Manitoba stores, this system is part of Valleyview’s strategy to buy local when possible.
“It’s the opposite of what we’re doing with globalization,” says Gill. While a competitive global marketplace has some advantages, interruptions in supply chains can occur. With Growcer unit technology, local is becoming possible and more affordable.
“The co-op is helping the farmer out, we’re going to get to sell the produce, so we make money on the re-sale and I don’t have to look after the produce,” says Gill adding,” I’m really excited to see where this goes!”
Tasty butter crunch lettuce is sold in food stores as a root-on commodity to maintain its freshness. “We love that lettuce,” says Gill. “It’s a little bit harder to get; it’s a perfect fit for hydroponic growing.”
Real Greens owners say they are excited to see this project’s impact on the community: “We love the opportunity that Growcer brings to communities. This feels much better than paper straws in plastic cups. This is an opportunity to make a difference in the quality of the produce and take on wasteful transportation. We envision some staff working at the Growcer unit and Valleyview Co-op, closing the loop from farm to table!”
Gill says the project just makes sense. “We can reduce the environmental impact from shipping and warehousing (and) ensure our members receive the freshest product grown at home, in Manitoba.”
Produce delivery will be via Valleyview’s internal mail delivery service which already runs twice per week with a climate-controlled truck that is also set up for food delivery.
“We’re pretty fortunate that we have an internal mail truck that runs twice a week. We’re just going to piggyback on that mail run. Our van goes right by Mark and Kendra’s farm twice a week….”
The plan is for all the Valleyview food stores in Pierson, Melita, Virden, Oak Lake, Kenton and Oak River to carry the produce.
The cost of the new lettuce probably won’t change much. “Where you bought butter crunch lettuce in the past, we’re going to be right in that ballpark I think. The difference… if, all of a sudden there’s a bad crop… in California and you see prices spike, we’re not going to do that. We’re going to hold our prices competitive. Because we’re also able to control those cost inputs,” says Gill.
