Agricultural Research Farm & Controlled Environment Centre

Organizations use these facilities to:

• Evaluate crop performance under real-world conditions
• Validate new agricultural technologies and products
• Accelerate variety development and breeding programs
• Assess fertilizer, crop protection, and soil management solutions
• Generate defensible scientific data for investment and regulatory decisions
• Study plant responses under controlled conditions
• Reduce risk before large-scale deployment

Our facilities support innovation across the agricultural value chain, from early-stage research through field-scale validation.

One of the unique advantages of our facilities is the ability to conduct research across multiple growing environments. Researchers can move seamlessly between:

• Laboratory studies
• Controlled environment chambers
• Greenhouse trials
• Field-scale validation

This integrated approach helps accelerate development while ensuring results remain relevant to real-world production conditions.

Who Uses These Facilities?

• Agri-tech innovators developing new technologies
• Seed and crop genetics companies
• Crop input manufacturers
• Plant breeders
• Researchers and academic institutions
• Greenhouse operators
• Agri-food companies
• Government and industry organizations

Field-Scale Research & Validation

Located near Vegreville, Alberta, our 600-acre agricultural research farm supports the testing and evaluation of crop production technologies, management practices, and emerging agricultural innovations. Each growing season, thousands of research plots are established to evaluate:

• Crop varieties and breeding lines
• Fertilizers and soil amendments
• Herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides
• Cropping systems and agronomic practices
• Specialty and emerging crops
• Sustainable production technologies

Research is conducted under realistic field conditions, providing data that supports product development, technology validation, and commercial adoption decisions.

Research Greenhouses

Year-Round Plant Research

Our greenhouse facilities provide controlled growing environments that enable research throughout the year, independent of Alberta’s outdoor growing season.  Researchers can precisely manage environmental conditions such as:

• Temperature
• Water availability
• Fertility
• Light exposure
• Disease pressure
• Pest management

These controlled conditions help ensure that observed results are attributable to the treatment being studied rather than environmental variability. Applications include:

• Variety screening
• Crop physiology studies
• Plant pathology research
• Controlled agricultural trials
• Specialty crop development
• Cannabis and hemp research
• Native plant research

Controlled Environment Growth Chambers

Precision Environmental Control for Advanced Research

Our controlled environment chambers allow researchers to precisely control lighting, temperature, humidity, and atmospheric conditions. 

These facilities support studies that require environmental conditions that cannot be reliably achieved in field or greenhouse settings, including:

• Stress-response studies
• Growth optimization research
• Climate simulation
• Plant development studies
• Controlled breeding programs
• Disease and pest research

The ability to isolate environmental variables allows researchers to better understand how plants respond to specific conditions and treatments.

Our facilities regularly support projects involving:

• Crop variety development and testing
• Fertilizer and soil health research
• Crop protection product evaluation
• Plant breeding programs
• Controlled environment agriculture
• Greenhouse production systems
• Specialty crop development
• Cannabis and hemp research
• Sustainable agriculture initiatives
• Climate resilience and adaptation studies

Our Agricultural Research Farm and Controlled Environment Centre combine extensive plant science expertise with specialized research infrastructure that spans laboratory, greenhouse, growth chamber, and field environments. 

Clients benefit from:

• Independent scientific validation
• Access to specialized agricultural infrastructure
• Year-round research capabilities
• Field and controlled-environment expertise
• Defensible data for investment and regulatory decisions
• Reduced technical and commercialization risk
• Support from concept through field-scale validation