Far from the greenhouse epicentre of Leamington, Ontario, a new automated five-acre facility is harvesting and packaging baby greens nine hours each day, seven days a week. It’s a personal vision come true for Jay Willmot.
Growing up on Kinghaven Farms, King City, Ontario, Willmot was family to Canadian horseracing royalty. From this background, patience and not making foolish, uneducated bets became part of his DNA. After a successful legal career providing counsel to various renewable energy and agribusiness clients, Willmot decided it was time to take the family farm in a new direction.
His aim was nothing short of a state-of-the-art, environmentally sustainable greenhouse. And he hit the mark in February 2025 with the launch of Haven Greens, a facility less than an hour’s drive north of Toronto. With ready access to millions of consumers and a full-time staff of just 40 people, the greenhouse is today offering Baby Green Lettuce, Baby Red and Green Leaf and Baby Spring Mix. They are currently marketed through three major retailers -- Metro, Sobeys, and Giant Tiger – along with a host of smaller independent retailers. Unsurprisingly, given the three-day shelf life of competitive product shipped by truck from California, the food service industry has quickly pivoted to Haven Green’s boxed three-pound bags, which represent the bulk of the company’s current sales.
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